DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997            TAG: 9702250316

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REA McLEROY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   58 lines

OSCAR SMITH ROLLS OVER CHURCHLAND

Year after year at tournament time, it has been Oscar Smith and Churchland dueling for a regional girls basketball berth.

With the realignment of the Southeastern and Eastern Districts this season, the matchup was postponed until Monday's Eastern Region quarterfinals.

When the struggle ended, Oscar Smith had handed coach Patty Walsh her first spot in the Eastern Region semifinals with a 51-34 victory over the Truckers.

``We've been competitive for years,'' Walsh said of the showdown with Truckers coach Duke Conrad. ``I was used to his coaching style, I could almost guess what he would do.''

The victory advanced Oscar Smith (23-1) to Wednesday's 6 p.m. semifinal against Menchville (24-0), a 41-29 winner over Salem. Booker T. Washington (23-1), a 39-32 winner over Nansemond River, plays Kempsville (24-2), which beat Gloucester 47-26, in the 7:45 game. All semifinal games will be played at Churchland.

The Truckers (18-6) capitalized on the Tigers' inability to score on open layups early, taking an 18-2 lead and forcing Oscar Smith to take stock.

``I was thinking, `Oh no, not another typical Oscar Smith-Churchland matchup where Churchland goes ahead early and wins.' We changed the defense and the girls played outstanding,'' Walsh said.

The Tigers dominated the boards, allowing Churchland few second-chance shots. Sherita Spencer grabbed 11 rebounds and Brooke Coley snagged nine. Oscar Smith took a 23-20 lead into the half and never trailed again.

It was expected the key matchups would be between Truckers' standouts Stacey Hundley and Kim Elliott and Oscar Smith scoring sensation Joetta Thorpe.

Instead, it became a night for new heroes. Tigers Sharnnia Artis was a penetrating, ball-handling force throughout the night, scoring a team-high 12 points with seven rebounds and one steal.

But the playmaker for Oscar Smith was Amber Parker, who scored 10 points off the bench, hitting 4 of 4 free throws in a crucial stretch, and a steal.

``It was exciting,'' Parker said. ``I didn't think we could do it. We're very young.''

Parker hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in the half to give Oscar Smith its first lead at 21-18.

She nailed a second 3-pointer with seven minutes remaining to stymie a Churchland comeback and give the Tigers a 37-29 lead. With 3:03 remaining, Parker hit a pair of free throws, then hit another pair second later to give the Tigers a back-breaking 42-31 edge. Artis followed with two free throws, then Parker stole a pass to further confound the Truckers.

``We really started out very well poised and had a good first quarter,'' Conrad said. ``Then we looked like we relaxed and said this game was ours and stopped making plays, stopped hustling and stopped scrapping.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

L. TODD SPENCER

Churchland's Shelly Singleton attempts to block a shot from Oscar

Smith's Brooke Coley Monday in an Eastern Region girls basketball

quarterfinal. Oscar Smith won 51-34 to advance to Wednesday's

semifinals.

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