THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080574
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA McLEROY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 45 lines
It was a night of miracle plays for Churchland. But last-minute magic wasn't enough to break the spell of Lake Taylor and Juritus and Tasha Thompson.
The Thompsons combined for 50 points - 30 by Juritus - as unranked Lake Taylor overcame No. 4 Churchland 69-68 in triple overtime in Eastern District play.
Taller Churchland couldn't handle the Titans' relentless attack until the game's closing minutes. Then the big plays started coming.
The Truckers struggled from the line - they hit 1 of 7 in the first half - but Melissa Betts tied the game at 50 with three seconds left with a pair of free throws.
Churchland's Kim Elliott hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force the second overtime, where Candace Drummond entered to hit a crucial basket and then a 3-pointer to put the Truckers up 67-65.
But the Titans' Tasha Thompson rebounded her own shot twice to sink the tying basket and bring on the third overtime.
There, the Titans held Churchland, then held the ball from 2:12 to 33 seconds, when Tasha Thompson was fouled. She hit one of the two free throws, then was fouled again after rebounding a Churchland miss and hit one more free throw for her 20th point.
Churchland finally ran out of miracles, missing the second of two free throws and then failing to connect on three shots as time expired.
``They played their hearts out,'' Lake Taylor coach Theresa Jones said. ``We just didn't put it away ... (It was) nerve-wracking.''
And frustrating. Juritus Thompson, South Hampton Roads' leading scorer, struggled to find her stroke early. The 3-point demon finally hit her stride in the second half; she eventually fouled out with 20 seconds left in the second overtime.
However, even when not scoring she drove the offense and menaced the Truckers with pressure defense.
Churchland tried to go over the Titans' defense, lobbing the ball in for layups, but missed 11 shots under the basket in the first half.
``Basically, we hit one of seven free throws and missed the 11 layups and were down only one at the half,'' Churchland coach Duke Conrad said. ``If we had made half of everything we would have been up 13, then it would have been a whole different ballgame.''