Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 4, 1992 TAG: 9202040229
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CAVE SPRING GIRLS HOLD OFF COUGARS
The Cave Spring girls' basketball team put some distance between itself and Pulaski County on Monday by stationing Lisa Hodges at a new position.The 6-foot-1 senior went to the wing and hit three 3-point shots as the Knights beat the visiting Cougars 69-59 for the second time this year.
This was a far different game than the teams' four-overtime thriller last month on the same court.
The Knights had control of Monday night's game from the first quarter and took a two-game lead in the Roanoke Valley District standings. The teams meet in the season finale in Dublin, but unless Cave Spring loses in the RVD, that game will be only for pride.
Hodges connected on seven of eight field-goal attempts on the way to 21 total points. Amy Athey added a game-high 25 points and Kelly Dierker scored nine, giving the Knights' front line 55 points.
"I picked [the 3-point shot] up this summer in AAU and I hit three of them earlier this year against Patrick Henry," said Hodges. "In the second half of the season, I've moved to the three [a wing] position. I think it makes me more of a threat."
Cave Spring coach Dave Layman said, "We don't do this against every team, but that's where Lisa will play in college [at North Carolina State], and she'll be a good face-up player on the wing in college."
The Knights (15-0 overall, 8-0 RVD) trailed 19-15 with 5:29 left in the half when Aimee Beightol came off the bench to score 5 points on a jumper and a three-point play. By halftime, Cave Spring led 33-25; Hodges hit her second 3-point shot with 26 seconds left to close the scoring.
The closest Pulaski County came in the second half was seven points. The Cougars' talented freshman guard Carrie McConnell reinjured her right knee in the second quarter and left for good after having scored seven points.
With McConnell out, Cave Spring was content to keep Terri Garland from penetrating and Cindy Martin, the Cougars' top scorer, from dominating with an inside offense. Martin wound up with eight points, and Garland got 24, 12 of them in the final quarter.
"I feel like Cave Spring played really well. I saw where Lisa had hit some 3-point shots in the paper, and in the first game she tried shooting outside shots and didn't hit," said Cougars coach Rod Reedy. "She was trading twos for threes, but tonight she was hitting."
The Knights connected on 22 of 43 field-goal attempts.
The Cougars had a 39-37 rebounding edge, with Lena Jones hauling away a game-high 10.
Pulaski County (12-3, 6-2) made 25 of 68 shots. Sonya Davidson chipped in 14 points on 7-for-17 shooting.
In the point-guard matchup, Garland wound up with six assists while Cave Spring's Kim Stewart had eight. Stewart, Cave Spring's usual leading scorer, had but five points and took only five shots. So what was the difference
in this game and last month's?
"I think tonight we were ready and we played together as a total team," said Hodges. "I think it's the best we've played together and we were just really up for this game."
\ see microfilm for box score
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.