Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150069
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Just when the other girls' basketball teams in Region IV thought it might be possible to get through tournament time without worrying about two-time defending Group AA state champion Blacksburg, the Indians started to play their best ball of the season.
And that has Blacksburg (12-12) needing just a win at home Thursday night at 7 to return to the Group AA state tournament.
"We've put in some tough preparation to get where we're at," said Blacksburg coach Mickey McGuigan. "We've fought back to get back here."
The fighting back included a four-game winning streak that evened the Indians' record for the first time since the second game of the season. More importantly, it moved them from being on the verge of missing the regionals for the first time since 1989 into a playoff for the district champion's seed in the Region IV tournament. Blacksburg won that playoff and now is on the verge of its fourth trip to state play in five years.
"We're peaking right now, that's a good thing," said 5-foot-9 senior forward Lisa Price, the New River District's top scorer, with 14.5 points per game. "It's a good thing we did win it [the playoff], because now we can do well in the regionals. I have a lot more confidence right now than I did before."
The surge came when Price and 5-4 junior guard April Rogers decided to stop fretting and to start having fun.
"We're not worrying about all those games we lost," said Rogers, the Indians' defensive specialist and second-leading scorer, with 9.4 ppg. "We're concentrating on the games right now. That's what is important. It's what happens right now [the regionals] and after that that really counts."
With a first-round bye, it will be late tonight before the Indians know whether they will play Grundy or Gate City in Blacksburg Thursday.
Grundy (16-6) relies on the post play of 6-0 senior center Amy Stiltner (15.1 ppg.). Grundy has the distinction of being the only team to beat Marion this season. Last year, Grundy knocked Christiansburg out of the regionals before falling to Gate City in the semifinals.
Gate City (15-7) still has the outside game of 5-7 junior guard Lindsay Carter (21.3 ppg), the Highlands District's top scorer. But missing from the team that lost to Blacksburg in the regional finals last year is 6-2 senior center Kerri Beasley (11.2 ppg), who has missed the second half of the season with a knee injury.
In the other half of the bracket, Carroll County makes its first-ever trip to the regionals, traveling to Richlands Tuesday night.
Carroll County (15-9) features a balanced, patient attack. Bethany Hill (10 ppg) is the top scorer, but the 5-7 sophomore was slowed late in the season by a heart murmur and is just now returning to form. Junior 5-9 center Denean Jessup (9 ppg, 9 rebounds) has helped pick up the offense.
Richlands (21-1) is essentially the same team that Blacksburg beat in the regional semifinals last season, except everyone is a year more mature. The scoring punch of 5-8 junior Laura Burress (14.7 ppg) and 5-7 sophomore Christi Bennett (12.2 ppg), as well as the inside play of 5-11 senior post Martha Phipps, allowed Richlands to open the season with 17 straight wins.
Awaiting the winner of the Carroll County-Richlands contest is Marion (21-1). The most-balanced team in the region, Marion doesn't have a player averaging in double figures. Its top scorers are a pair of sophomores: 5-10 Stacy Miller (9.7 ppg), and 5-4 Leigh Jones (9.1 ppg). What Marion has is a tenacious defense - man, zone, traps and presses - and a 20-game winning streak.
The finals are Saturday night, with Blacksburg as host if it wins Thursday.
by CNB