ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALEVILLE
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
A little bit of tradition can help a young team grow up quickly.
When William Byrd wrapped up its final practice before facing Northside in a Blue Ridge District girls' basketball tournament semifinal Thursday, coach Richard Thrasher sent his charges to look at the school's trophy case.
``He told us to look in there and keep the tradition going,'' said Andrea Gay, a freshman guard. So the ninth-grader did her part, hitting five of six free throws in the final 2:16 to lead the Terriers past Northside 51-44 at Lord Botetourt High School. The victory sends the defending district champions into Saturday's final against host Lord Botetourt, and wraps up yet another Region III tournament spot for Byrd.
This will be the third meeting this year between Byrd (19-3) and defending Group AA champion Botetourt (22-1). Last year, the two teams met in the district, regional and state finals.
``I wanted them to look at the district tournament trophies and told them you get a nice one for winning,'' said Richard Thrasher, Byrd's coach.
The real tradition is the Terriers' appearances in the Region III tournament. Thrasher's teams never have failed to make the tournament in his 13 years as Byrd's coach, and he said the Terriers might have been participants in the two seasons before he took over.
Byrd, which doesn't have a senior on the team, led for most of Thursday's game. The Terriers hit 20 of 37 from the field and held a 31-26 rebounding advantage.
Sophomore Stephanie Parnell got Byrd started with seven of her 13 points in the opening quarter to help the Terriers break on top 11-4.
``They came out running and we came out following,'' said Marilyn Bussey, Northside's coach.
It didn't help that the Vikings missed nine 3-point attempts in the first half.
``A little patience wasn't always one of our strong points,'' Bussey said. ``A few of them weren't bad shots. But we stood around on offense and they got the rebounds.''
The Vikings (16-6) trailed by three points at the half, but Byrd opened the third quarter by scoring the first eight points in the opening 2:48 to move in front 32-21.
``At the half, Coach Thrasher told us the most important part of the game would be the start of the third quarter,'' Gay said.
Coupled with the Terriers' spurt, Northside didn't score the first 4:35 of the third quarter and the game might have been over if Byrd also had not gone cold after the opening spurt. Crystal Barrett's layup ended the Vikings' drought, and they got the last nine points of the quarter to trail by two.
In the final period, though, it was all Terriers. After Amber Kern and Barrett gave Northside two brief ties, Byrd got a 3-pointer from Sarah Moore to take a 39-36 lead. Gay followed with a short jumper, and the Terriers went to a four-corners offense that set the stage for some free throws by Gay.
``We didn't want to put her at the line,'' said Bussey, who knew the freshman was a solid shooter.
Said Gay: ``It wasn't that much pressure. I just look at free throws as any other shot.''
``If you want to talk about pressure on Andrea, talk about the pressure we've put on her [in practice and games] all year,'' Thrasher said.
The Vikings made only 17 of 51 shots from the floor and only Samantha Webb (10 points) managed to score in double figures. Amy Heath's 3-point shot came with 1:11 left and made it 44-36 when the game was virtually salted away for the Terriers.
Northside's defense was strong. The Vikings had 11 steals, led by Kern's four. In the final quarter, though, Byrd committed only one turnover as the Terriers shook their offensive jitters.
Gay's support came from Parnell, who added 13 points, and Brandy Allen, who had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF William Byrd's Brandy Allen dives forby CNBa loose ball during the Terriers' Blue Ridge District tournament
semifinal game Thursday night against Northside. Byrd won 51-44.