Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150067
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Just because this contest against Chilhowie is in the first round of the Region C tournament doesn't mean the Buffaloes will try to do anything differently.
"I just think we'll do our regular routine," said 6-1 senior center Carrie Chaffin. "We won't change anything. We'll just have to play hard, work together as a team and hustle."
When you've won 50 in a row, like Floyd County (23-0) has, change isn't called for. And the Buffaloes' fearsome man-to-man pressure defense - known as the "Black Swarm" - can take the opposition out of its game so quickly and thoroughly that the victories begin to look deceptively easy.
"There's a lot of hard work behind it," pointed out 5-9 Leigh-Ann Pursifull, a senior guard. "Last year, and for the next few years, we've been blessed with good players. We've got good coaches at all three levels [varsity, junior varsity and eighth grade], and that helps. So it's not as easy as it looks."
Easy or not, Floyd County will begin the defense of its Region C and state Group A titles against an experienced Chilhowie (17-6) team that already has more than doubled its victory total from last season.
Emily Dungan, a 5-6 senior swing player, is Chilhowie's top scorer (19 points per game) and has over 1,000 points in her career. Point guard Joanna Jones (11 ppg), a 5-6 senior, and post Kelly Plowman (9 ppg), a 5-8 junior, also make major contributions on offense.
"They work hard on defense," Floyd County coach Alan Cantrell said. "They're very scrappy. And they're a hustling type of team."
That means Floyd County will need its balanced offense led by Pursifull (13.2 ppg, 4 assists), Chaffin (12.1 ppg, 7.5 rebounds, 57.5 field goal percentage) and point guard Melissa Cantrell (5.3 assists). And it means something else.
"We just have to go out and play our tough defense," said Cantrell, a 5-7 junior. "We'll have to be ready for a team that plays like us."
The winner of this matchup meets the winner of the Parry McCluer-Galax game in the semifinals Thursday night at John Battle High School near Bristol.
Galax (19-5) lost to Floyd County twice during the regular season. It is led by 5-10 junior post Tammy Cox (17.3 ppg, 11.2 rebounds), the leading scorer in the Mountain Empire District.
Parry McCluer (15-6) features the inside duo of 5-9 seniors Crystal Humphries (12.8 ppg) and Misty Snider (7.2 rebounds).
The other half of the regional bracket has Glenvar (20-2), Castlewood (20-3), Auburn (12-10) and Fort Chiswell (9-14).
The tournament finals are scheduled for Saturday at John Battle.
by CNB