THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, February 27, 1996             TAG: 9602270421
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                       LENGTH: Short :   49 lines

MENCHVILLE RUNS SEASON STREAK TO 24 WITH WIN OVER W. BRANCH BRUINS' SLOW GAME WORKED FOR A HALF, THEN WENT COLD.

Menchville preserved its 24-game unbeaten streak and put an end to Western Branch's season with a 56-35 victory in Monday's Eastern Region first round at Menchville.

The Monarchs, the Peninsula District regular season and tournament champion, will meet Salem, a 48-35 winner over Maury, in Wednesday's 7 p.m. semifinal at Churchland.

The Bruins, who advanced to the region playoffs with a buzzer-beating victory over Churchland in the Southeastern District final, finished the season at 17-6.

Menchville jumped out to a 17-11 lead in the first quarter, but the Bruins stayed in the game and were able to work effectively against a Monarch 2-3 zone.

Western Branch's patient offense and careful shot selection helped the Bruins tie it up 22-22 with under a minute to play in the second quarter with an 11-8 run. Brandi Woodard sparked Western Branch with six of her nine points. Woodard also chipped in 10 of her 17 rebounds in the half.

Menchville's Angela Jordan then banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Monarchs a 25-23 lead at the break.

And from there, Menchville took over.

A full-court man-to-man press rattled Western Branch, which connected on 0 of 13 shots from the floor and was limited to a Woodard free throw while the Monarchs' jumped to a 37-23 lead.

``We were unorganized,'' Western Branch coach Kim Aston said. ``If we would've converted our layups, we would've been right in the game.

``I think our younger kids got rattled in the second half.''

In the run, the Bruins managed to squeeze through the press, but fell short underneath the basket with nine missed shots in the paint.

``We got nervous,'' Woodard said. ``We weren't focused.''

But Menchville's Chalois Lias was. Lias, who was named the Peninsula District tournament's most valuable player, took charge in the second half and controlled the boards.

Lias finished with 14 points, while Rodriguez led the Monarchs with 16 and Candice Edwards contributed 11.

Tia Snell led Western Branch with 10 points and Ciara Lascano added nine. by CNB