THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 20, 1996 TAG: 9602200401
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Deep Creek played like a team needing to come from behind in the first round of the Southeastern District girls basketball tournament Monday at Churchland.
The Hornets repeatedly fouled in the closing minutes. They raced to the offensive end of the court and fired off the quickest shot they could muster. Despite leading from start to finish, they seemed unaware they were in position to upset Oscar Smith, a team they lost to by 17 points less than a week ago.
Finally, Sherri Butler streaked down court for an open basket to seal a 52-46 victory and a semifinal berth opposite regular-season champion Churchland on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at Oscar Smith.
``We have a real young group,'' Deep Creek coach Otis Etheridge said. ``We told them in the huddle not to foul, to hold the ball. We told them again in the last timeout. But they're young, they want to go for it.''
And go for it they did. The Hornets (10-11) relentlessly penetrated the defense of the Tigers (17-6), easily scoring inside. Anecia Brathwaite menaced Oscar Smith defenders, constantly driving in for layups to pace the Hornets 18-9 first-quarter run.
In the Hornets' 55-38 loss to Oscar Smith in last Thursday's regular-season finale, Tiger freshman star Joetta Thorpe took a finger to her eye and had to be taken to the hospital. She received stitches in a slashed eyelid and did not play Monday. The injury heightened the emotion between the teams.
``It's always exciting when we play Oscar Smith,'' Etheridge said. ``I knew we just had to attack the basket and that's exactly what we did. At halftime I told them they were doing a good job attacking and to keep it up.''
The Tigers set up a full-court press and Brathwaite and Butler headed for the baseline and cut around the defenders. Facing a 1-2-2 zone, Brathwaite continued to charge the lane.
The Hornets went on a 7-0 run at the end of the half to build a 30-19 lead.
In the second half, Brooke Coley grabbed two steals and scored six straight points to cut the deficit to 31-28. Brathwaite responded with four of her 16 points to again put Deep Creek in command.
Oscar Smith cut the gap to two and had several chances to tie the game in the final minutes, but each time either Brathwaite or Butler made a play to hold the margin. The Tigers hit only 4 of 9 free throws in the final two minutes.
Coley led the Tigers with 14 points. Starr Parker added 12 and Sharnnia Artis in 10.
In other first-round games:
Churchland 61, Wilson 22: The Truckers went on a 25-0 first-half run to put away the Presidents and advance to Wednesday's semifinal with Deep Creek.
Senior Courtney Hundley collected nine rebounds, 10 assists and eight points. Nicole Council scored 12 of her 19 points in the first half.
Churchland's full-court press overwhelmed Wilson, which coughed up seven steals each to Stacey Hundley and Kim Elliott. Shelly Singleton added 10 points with 15 rebounds for Churchland.
Western Branch 51, Norcom 37: Millette Green and Brandi Woodard scored four points apiece in the fourth quarter to lead a 17-9 run to lift the Bruins. Western Branch will play Great Bridge in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Oscar Smith.
The Bruins used a 2-3 zone to shut Norcom out the first 6:20 of the game and limited the Greyhounds to four points in the first quarter. Woodard had eight points in the first half and helped the Bruins build a 16-point halftime lead. But the Bruins were held to six points in the third quarter and Norcom chopped a 16-point deficit to four.
Woodard, a 5-foot-11 point guard, finished with 20 rebounds.
Great Bridge 64, Indian River 51: Freshman Denita Griffin scored a season-high 16 points with five assists and five rebounds to spark the third-seeded Wildcats. Jill Ferguson struck first, canning eight of her 10 points in the first quarter for a 17-12 lead.
Great Bridge (17-4, 11-4) then grabbed a lead it never relinquished as Kalisha Brown scored seven of her 14 points in the third quarter. Senior LaShelle Griffin chipped in 13 points.
Juanika Freeman led Indian River (6-13, 5-10) with 16 points. Great Bridge plays Western Branch Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Oscar Smith. by CNB