ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040124
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALEVILLE
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY JR. STAFF WRITER
The Lord Botetourt High School girls' basketball team seemed ready to defend its Group AA championship Tuesday night.
The Lady Cavaliers shot 78 percent from the field as they crushed Group A rival Glenvar 74-38 at Botetourt.
With the victory, the Lady Cavaliers (4-0) are now riding a 10-game win streak. Their last loss came to William Byrd in the championship game of last season's Blue Ridge District tournament. And so far this season, Botetourt has outscored its opponents by an average of 39 points.
``We are playing very hard,'' said David Wheat, the Cavaliers' coach. ``We have asked a lot of our team in terms of raising the intensity throughout this year. We want to take it right to the other team.''
That's exactly what they did to the Highlanders (1-2).
Leading the way was reigning Timesland Player of the Year Sarah Hicks. The 6-foot senior, headed to Virginia Tech, scored a season-high 28 points, had 10 rebounds and 3 steals.
``She was unreal,'' said Glenvar coach Dennis Layman. ``I think she only missed about two shots heading into the third quarter. She is super-talented.''
But Hicks wasn't alone. Senior guard Sara Moore added 10 points, eight steals and four assists.
``She was like a guided missile out there,'' said Wheat.
And 5-11 sophomore Kim Daugherty finished with 10 points.
``They did certain things so fast and so well,'' said Layman. ``They just kept getting down the court on us. I know there are some things that we didn't do. But they came out and looked so flawless.''
The Cavaliers wasted no time in lighting up the scoreboard, hitting 11 of their first 13 shots to take a 24-9 lead.
During that span, the Highlanders went five minutes and 12 seconds without a basket. Glenvar's drought ended when hit a layup with 12 seconds left in the first quarter. Hale, last season's Sizzling Sophomore, finished with a team-high 17 points.
For a while it seemed like the only baskets the Highlanders would make were free throws as they connected on 11 of 19. Most of them came from Hale, who was 7-of-8. Meanwhile, the junior and her teammates could only manage 29 percent from the field.
``Honestly, I think that we can defend our state title this year,'' said Hicks. ``We have four starters back from last year. We have the team that can win states.'' see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PHILIP HOLMAN STAFF Lord Botetourt's Sarah Hicks passesby CNBout of a double-team by Glenvar's Erika Hale and Jamie Dowdy during
Tuesday night's game. Botetourt won 74-38.