
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 27, 1993                   TAG: 9310270169
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MONETA                                LENGTH: Medium

STAUNTON RIVER CLOSER TO TITLE

The Staunton River girls' basketball team has done its share of waiting. It has been more than 20 years - 1971 to be exact - since the Golden Eagles won a district title in the sport.

On Tuesday night, Staunton River came a step closer to a district championship, taking the Seminole district lead outright by beating Nelson County 51-45 on its home court. On Sept. 23, the Governors (14-3 overall and in the district) edged Staunton River (15-2, 15-2) 49-45 in Lovingston.

Slumped on a chair after the game, exhausted 5-foot-7 forward Tanya Nelms described the victory in a few choice words.

"This was sweet," said Nelms, who scored 13 points. "Real sweet."

Both teams shot similarly from the floor. Staunton River made 23 of 57 field-goal attempts, while the Governors converted 19 of 56. The difference, though, was rebounding; the Golden Eagles had a 33-23 advantage. Many of those boards for Staunton River were offensive rebounds they converted into points.

"The girls have been waiting for this for a while," said Linwood Roberts, Staunton River's head coach. "Rebounding was the key tonight. We boxed out well and scored on a lot of second shots. They [the Governors] have a lot of heart."

The game followed a pattern: The Golden Eagles would take a big lead, and Nelson County would scrap back into it.

Then, Staunton River would use a spurt to take control again.

The Golden Eagles saw leads of 14-4, 26-12 and 29-16 whittled away, but came back each time the Governors threatened to take control.

Staunton River made five of its first six shots in the fourth quarter to dismiss any hopes of a Nelson County comeback. Courtney Hurd, at 5-7 playing against the taller Governors inside, came up big twice in the fourth after Nelson County had cut its deficit to seven. She scored two tough inside buckets during the Golden Eagles' hot streak to boost the lead to 44-33. She finished with a game-high 14 points, most of them on offensive rebounds.

"I boxed out real good," said Hurd, who grabbed 12 rebounds. "I didn't think about them being bigger. The last time we played, I did."

by CNB