ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: NARROWS
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
Ask anyone associated with the Narrows girl's basketball team to sum up the secret to its success and what you'll find is a one-word response: defense.
The Green Wave switched from a zone to a man-to-man defense midway though the season and the result has been a 15-3 overall record. Narrows is 10-0 in the Mountain Empire District.
That's 10-0 with two game remaining - one Monday at Fort Chiswell and the other Tuesday at Galax.
The mere mention of those two schools used to be enough to make even the mightiest of the Green Wave cringe. And for good reason. Galax has taken the regular-season district title the past two years by a one-game margin over Narrows. The regular-season title is one of two ways to earn a berth in the Group A Region C tournament. The other is by winning the district tournament or being the tournament runner-up should the regular season champ prevail in the tournament too.
Enter Fort Chiswell. The Pioneers have ousted the favored Green Wave each of the past two years on the tournament. So even an 18-3 record last year wasn't enough to advance Narrows to regionals.
The Green Wave is ready for its revenge. This season, even with its spotless league record on the line with games at Fort Chiswell and Galax to close out the regular season, nobody at Narrows is cringing.
"I don't think this team has any fear right now," Narrows coach Todd Lusk said. "They feel like every time they go out on the floor they're going to win. It's not cockiness either. It's confidence that you have a successful team. Confidence that you can beat anyone."
The Green Wave came out on top in its earlier meetings with the Pioneers and the Maroon Tide, but both of those games were played in the comforts of home. Narrows downed Fort Chiswell 50-28 and dropped Galax 62-48, the Maroon Tide's only district loss this season.
"Our team goal at the beginning of the last three years has been to win the regular season district title," said Lusk, now in his sixth year with the Green Wave. "But we're working harder this year than in years past, and the makeup of the team this year is better. I think we have the firepower this year to do it."
That firepower originates with three big guns: senior point guard Bud Lucas, senior guard Suzanne Webb and junior center Tara Collins.
"I think its hard to try and stop us because I've got three people in Bud, Suzanne and Tara that can put up 25 points on any given night," Lusk said. "And they've all done that. There's not a whole lot you can do to stop us."
All three players agree the team's tough man-to-man defense has been essential to success. But Lucas and Webb also hasten to point out Narrows' new found inside game as well.
"Tara is somebody we know we can rely on," Lucas said. "We know she'll be there to block shots or get rebounds, and she scores well too. She's a monster when she's in the zone. Basically she just gets it done comes up with the big plays when we need them."
At 6-foot-2, Collins is a formidable force on the inside. Teamed with starting power forward Amanda Clemons, who stands 6-1 herself, the two can be overpowering, in Lusk's view.
"We've put about as tall a lineup out there as anyone this year," Lusk said. "And Tara is all power. She's plays a power inside game because her upper body is so strong."
Interestingly enough, Collins attributes that strength to mowing the grass. The junior said she spent a lot of time this summer on neighboring farms helping out different members of her family. In only her fourth year playing organized basketball, Collins is averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds per game.
"Having Tara on the inside just brings us so much balance," Webb said. "We've never had someone so strong. She blocks shots and gets everyone into the game. We know if our outside game isn't working we can got to the inside, and that's something we haven't really had in the past."
The Green Wave's outside games is also effective. Lusk describes Lucas (13 points per game, six assists an outing) as the best point guard in the area when it comes to pushing the ball up the floor. With Webb (18 ppg, 6 rpg) already known for her ball handling, Lusk said the addition of junior Jenna Stafford to the lineup at small forward has gelled the starting unit.
"Ever since we've added Jenna to the lineup we've been playing just like a coach would hope his team would play every night," Lusk said. "They are all focused on one goal and that's to win this regular season district title. The way they've been practicing and producing in games I hope we can continue to pull this thing out.
"It's going to be a dogfight next week."
LENGTH: Medium: 85 linesby CNB