DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997                 TAG: 9703020070

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: EDENTON                           LENGTH:   79 lines

NO. 1 LADY ACES READY TO SCORE IN PLAYOFFS CONTINUITY HELPS EDENTON GIRLS CLIMB STATE RANKINGS WITH A 20-1 RECORD.

Anticipation ran high at Edenton-Holmes High School when the girls basketball season began in November that the Lady Aces would be one of the premier teams in Northeastern North Carolina.

But could anyone have predicted that, by the end of the regular season, Edenton would be the top-ranked team in the state?

Win after win, week after week, Edenton climbed the Greensboro News & Record's state rankings. After the Lady Aces wrapped up the regular season 20-1, the poll showed Edenton atop the state. Northside, the previous No. 1 team, dropped to eighth after a loss.

The girls have taken the ranking in stride.

``At the beginning of the season, we felt like we would be ranked,'' said guard Michelle Bass. ``Then we got to third and second. After that it didn't mean that much. It feels good to be ranked, but we just want to keep winning.''

Plymouth felt the wrath of the top-ranked team on Friday night. The Lady Aces captured the Northeastern Conference Tournament championship for the second straight year by pounding the Lady Vikings 55-35. It was a typical game for Edenton - the Lady Aces have outscored their opponents by an average of 21 points per game.

Edenton has had a few close games this year. Down by seven points with 2:30 to play against Camden County, the Lady Aces came back for a win. Edenton was down by five points to Manteo with four minutes to play and ended up winning by seven.

The lone blemish on Edenton's record came Jan. 24 when the Lady Aces lost 50-49 to Currituck County. Coach Fred White said the team panicked in the last four minutes of the game in a situation they hadn't been in all year. Bass said the team learned a lesson that night.

``We learned not to take it for granted that we were going to win,'' she said, sitting in the bleachers watching the boys championship game, on the same court where the team lost its only game. ``You can't always win. I think some of us took Currituck lightly. We had already won so many games, I think we overlooked them.''

Edenton didn't take for granted its win over Plymouth in the finals. While most teams celebrate a conference championship heartily, there was barely a high-five in the house at the Edenton bench when the buzzer sounded. Perhaps White's discipline kicked in.

``Discipline is the big key in tight ball games,'' White said. ``If you're not disciplined, you won't win in tight situations. My players have the option of questioning things any time, with the exception of game nights. It's a system we change a little to fit the personnel. It's the same system we've been running for 20 years.''

The core of this team, four junior starters, have played together since the seventh grade. They include Bass, a point guard; Allison Godwin, a quick shooting guard; Beth Regulski, a rebounding machine; and Kim Coston, an efficient passer at forward. Senior center Latoya Gilliam, the other starter, is also quick on the boards and has one of the better inside games in the conference.

``That continuity is healthy,'' White said. ``What's most important is that they have been able to play the same positions that they're in now since the seventh grade.''

Playing together is like second nature, Goodwin said.

``We play really good together,'' Goodwin said. ``Everybody gets along good. We've been playing together so long we know how each other plays.''

``We've been through everything together. We're real close,'' Bass said. ``Me, Allison, and Beth, we all have the same classes together. Sometimes if we play somebody that night, we talk about the game in class. We talk about not underestimating anybody.''

The closeness of this team should help now that the second season has arrived. Last year, the Lady Aces went two rounds into the playoffs and gained valuable experience.

``We were real nervous last year,'' Bass said. ``I think we'll still be nervous, but not as bad.''

The double-digit wins have been impressive, but White expects the playoff games to be tighter.

``It's a double-edged sword,'' White said. ``You want to win by a whole lot, but that won't happen from here on out.''

Edenton enters the 2A playoffs with a first-round bye. The Lady Aces will be the home team for a second-round game at 7 p.m. on Thursday against either Wallace-Rose Hill or Greene Central.

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