
DATE: Sunday, April 13, 1997                TAG: 9704110244

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 18   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   89 lines

HOWARD, DUCKETT SHARE PLAYER OF YEAR HONORS

THE TALENT IN Beach District girls basketball was so evenly spread last winter that the coaches had trouble selecting a player of the year. In the voting, Kempsville 's Erin Duckett and Princess Anne's Okeshia Howard finished in a tie.

Greg Dunn, who guided Kempsville to the state Group AAA quarterfinals, was named coach of the year by his peers.

Salem and Princess Anne each had two players named to the six-member first team, while Kempsville and Tallwood had one each.

Duckett and Howard were joined on the first team by Michelle Garcia and Jenny Harmon of Salem, Princess Anne's Suawanna Taylor and Tallwood's Amy White.

Duckett, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, moved from a role player to the main offensive threat for the Chiefs this season. Averaging a team-high 11.4 points per game, Duckett's ability to penetrate the lane or pull up for a 3-pointer pushed Kempsville into the AAA state quarterfinals.

Howard, a 5-6 sophomore guard, showed dynamic offense combined with the ability to pick off a pass. She scored a school-record 31 points in the season opener and averaged 19.2 points per game to push her two-year total to 757 points with 3.0 assists and 4.2 rebounds.

Garcia, a 5-6 sophomore guard, averaged 11.3 points. She scored a season-high 22 against St. John's in a Christmas tournament and tallied 20 against Kellam.

Harmon, a 5-11 junior forward, averaged 10.8 points. She scored a season-high 27 against Robinson in a Christmas tournament in Northern Virginia.

Taylor, a 6-0 senior guard, provided leadership and controlled the Cavaliers' fast-paced offense. She scored a season-high 23 against Kellam, and stepped up in big games - leading the team in scoring against rivals Salem and Kempsville. She averaged 12.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists with 42 blocked shots and has signed with Norfolk State University.

White, a 6-0 junior forward, averaged 12.9 points. White scored a team-high 13 points when the Lions upset Salem late in the season. She scored a season-high 21 against Green Run.

Following are second team All-Beach members:

Dalchon Brown, a 6-3 junior center for Green Run, averaged 14.9 points and had a season-high 31 against Bayside.

D'Erica Taylor, a 5-8 junior forward for Cox, averaged 11.8 points for the improved Falcons and scored a season-high 18 twice in back-to-back games against Ocean Lakes and Tallwood.

Heather Kinstler, a 5-5 senior guard for Tallwood, averaged a team-high 15.1 points per game. She scored a season-high 27 against Ocean Lakes and tallied games of 24 (Green Run), 21 (Ocean Lakes) and 22 (First Colonial).

Daminica Moody, a 5-9 senior forward for Princess Anne, battled injuries throughout the season but still averaged 7.9 points and had a season high of 19 against Bayside.

Alija Pittenger, a senior center from First Colonial who bounced back from missing last year with a torn ACL to average 12.3 points per game for the Beach tournament semifinalists. Pittenger's high game was 23 against Kellam. She tallied 21 in a near-upset of Princess Anne.

Toni Patillo, a 5-8 senior guard for Kempsville who was probably the most tenacious defender in the Beach.

She sparked the Chiefs throughout the season with key rebounds and forced turnovers and averaged 7.7 points, while scoring a season-high 14 in the Beach District tournament against Kellam. She also averaged 7.1 rebounds and 2.3 steals. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

Erin Duckett,

Kempsville

Okeisha Howard,

Princess Anne

Michelle Garcia,

Salem

Jenny Harmon,

Salem

Suawanna Taylor,

Princess Anne

Amy White,

Tallwood