THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603210171
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Now that the Cinderella season for the Perquimans County girls basketball team is over, it's time to look at the big picture.
Perquimans County's amazing playoff run is not only a tribute to a dedicated Lady Pirates team, but also to the Albemarle Conference as a whole.
It's kind of a joke among high school sports fans that the Albemarle Conference takes so many teams to the state playoffs. But looking back at the girls' 1A post-season, at least four of those five teams deserved to be there.
Camden County, by virtue of winning the conference, had a first-round bye in the playoffs. Despite entering the second round of the tournament with just two losses, the Lady Bruins lost a second round game to Gates County. Gates was tied for third with Perquimans.
Williamston, which finished second in the seven-team league, made it to the third round of the playoffs. The Lady Tigers were vanquished by Roanoke but only by one point.
Gates County lost to Perquimans in the third round. And, of course, Perquimans went all the way to the final four.
It was obvious that the battles in the Albemarle Conference between Camden, Williamston, Gates and Perquimans prepared all of those teams well for the postseason. They were more even than mere won-loss records indicate.
Another strong point about the conference is the intense rivalries that have developed. Some of the most entertaining girls basketball games this year were between the four teams above.
All of the schools seem to have a personality: Camden is the small school that everyone picks on; Williamston is the big school with a winning tradition that everybody picks on; Gates is the unheralded school from the ``hinterlands;'' and Perquimans is like the Oakland Raiders - rivals with everyone. When any of these four teams get together, there is plenty of incentive to play hard.
As talk turns hot and heavy to conference realignment for the fall of 1997, here is one vote to keep four of the Albemarle Conference teams together.
Sorry, but Northampton East, Northampton West and Weldon just don't belong. Keep Perquimans, Camden, Williamston and Gates where they are, at least for girls sports. MEMO: Jeff Zeigler covers Albemarle sports for The Carolina Coast. Send
comments and questions to him at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C. 27959. by CNB