Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010058
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Just say Cave Spring and Pulaski County or reverse those two schools. That's what the girls' basketball race has been all about in the Roanoke Valley District for the last five years.
These schools have taken turns frustrating one another. Except for one year when William Fleming stepped into the middle of these two schools and went to the region, the RVD has been a scrap between the Knights and the Cougars.
It should be even more so this year. Both teams are loaded with veterans, talent and height. Both squads are solid and could make a run for both Northwest Region and Group AAA state honors.
The Knights will go behind twin senior guards Aimee and Allison Beightol along with one of the tallest front lines in the state.
Pulaski County has Jodie Hallett, the RVD Player of the Year last winter, returning with 6-foot-2 Kim Cruise and two other starters. The Cougars won the regular season a year ago and the Knights took the tournament.
Is there a team that can compete with these two? Maybe Franklin County, though the Eagles might not have enough to win a title. Franklin County has five players off the volleyball team that lost only in the Northwest Region tournament to Hylton, which eventually won the Group AAA state title.
Cave Spring coach Linda Long says her team should be better than last year when the Knights were beaten by Albemarle in the region semifinals and denied a trip to the Group AAA state tournament. That ended a string of six consecutive trips to the state by Cave Spring.
``We need to stay healthy,'' said Long. ``I'm concerned about our depth. We don't know how some of the younger players will do on the varsity.''
The Beightols are the motors that make Cave Spring go. The front line is huge, topped by 6-foot-4 Lisa Bryan, the tallest girl to play Timesland basketball. She started as a freshman.
Cave Spring also has 6-0 transfer Jackie Banks, who was All-Blue Ridge District as a sophomore at William Byrd in the 1993 season. The other front liner is 5-10 Cheryl Rhodes, a double-figure scorer for the Knights last year. Together this trio averaged 30 points and 18 rebounds a game.
Pulaski County has plenty of returning statistics to throw at the Knights. The Cougars have 43 points and 14 rebounds a game coming back from four starters.
Coach Rod Reedy also has four college-bound players including Cruise (committed to Radford) and Carrie McConnell (interested in UNC-Wilmington), who will be Division I signees. Hallett is committed to Division II Elon while 5-8 guard Kara Buckner is likely to play Division III.
If McConnell returns to 100 percent healthy, then Pulaski County will be very tough to deal with. McConnell went down with an anterior cruciate ligament injury to her knee as a sophomore. ``She was about 90 percent last year and she's close to 100 percent now,'' said Reedy.
Mary Bishop, a 5-11 sophomore, might start on the front line and give the Cougars a front line that will compete with Cave Spring. Hallett is a fine shooter for a big player while Cruise is regarded as one of the sleepers in the state who is rapidly improving with each game.
Long says Franklin County might not win the RVD. ``But,'' warns the Knights' coach, ``they will be much better. We played them at camp and they have a lot of key players back. If they can't win the district, they can be a spoiler and keep either Pulaski County or us from winning it.''
Susan Wilson, the RVD Player of the Year, is joined by Sandy Hudson, Natalie Giles, Penee Clayborne and Amy Poindexter is coming from volleyball to basketball for the Eagles.
``I think the most we were lacking last year was confidence,'' said Franklin County coach Deborah Crockett. ``We were in a lot of games for two three quarters with Cave Spring and Pulaski County, but we couldn't pull them out.
``Volleyball will help. You can tell the different in work habits and in everything. We'll have a starting lineup that's pretty even. It wouldn't surprise me to see four or five players in double figures.''
It's not likely that William Fleming can challenge for the title. ``We're at a crossroads. We have some experience and a lot of youth,'' said Fleming coach Roland Lovelace, whose club was in the region two years ago.
``Our season depends how much support our younger people give the starters,'' said Lovelace.
Patrick Henryhas gone through a long dry spell including a winless season last year. Now Phil Baldwin, a 51-year-old guidance counsellor at the school, takes a turn at trying to rebuild PH. Baldwin says this is no short term project on his part.
``I want to build a program,'' said Baldwin, who expects to challenge the top teams right away. He says he has gotten fine support from both the administration and boys' coach Woody Deans.
by CNB