ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 23, 1996 TAG: 9611260055
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BRISTOL
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Taking the tough way is no obstacle for the Lord Botetourt High School girls' basketball team.
After winning their first Group AA tournament game on the road, the 1995 champions overcame Sarah Hicks' foul trouble and still defeated William Byrd 51-41 in a semifinal Friday night at Virginia High School.
The Cavaliers (26-2) will seek a second consecutive state title at 2:30 p.m. today against unbeaten Charlottesville, which beat Louisa County 48-45 in Friday's first semifinal.
Hicks picked up her third personal foul with 3:54 left in the second quarter, then was called for her fourth with 2:33 remaining in the third.
Lord Botetourt's Sara Moore made the difference. On defense, she was keeping Byrd point guard Andrea Gay from dominating the game. On offense, the 5-foot-9 senior guard was rebounding and scoring as she usually does.
Gay was held to four points, but more importantly, she didn't handle the ball too many times.
``When she had the ball, I was supposed to play off her so she couldn't drive,'' Moore said. ``When she gave it up, I wasn't supposed to let her get it back.''
Said David Wheat, the Cavaliers' coach: ``We weren't trying to stop her scoring. We were trying to stop her running the offesne.''
Despite her foul problems, Hicks was a key. She scored 12 points, but her most important contribution came when she spoke briefly to Moore before the guard attempted a free throw with 2:50 left in the game.
Moore smiled and made the free throw to complete a three-point play for Botetourt's biggest lead at the time, 49-41.
``Sara gets mad when she doesn't make a free throw,'' Hicks said. ``I just told her to stay positive and concentrate on her free throw, that we needed it.''
Another big contributor for Botetourt was Aimee Bird, who led the team with 16 points. The junior forward scored seven points in the final quarter, including a 3-pointer that made it 44-39, giving the Cavaliers some distance from Byrd (23-5).
``I just have to get my feet underneath me. If I'm hitting, they tend to fall in,'' said Bird. ``Usually, I start off not hitting well. It's a little bit of nerves and a little bit of getting used to the flow of the game.''
This fifth game between the two Blue Ridge District rivals was intense as always, though the end result was not that close.
Byrd dominated early, leading 15-9 lead behind Brandy Allen and Stephanie Parnell. After Hicks left for the first time, the Cavaliers closed to 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Allen and Parnell dominated with 31 points between them. The problem was, there was little scoring help for the pair.
``It matters if you play good, but if one person has a good game and you lose, it does nothing for us,'' said Allen.
However, the junior forward wasn't that down, considering Byrd doesn't have a senior on its roster.
``Yeah, I'm excited about next year,'' she said.
Moore wound up with three assists, two steals, 11 points and six rebounds, which led the Cavaliers on the boards.
``Sara Moore killed us,'' said Richard Thrasher, Byrd's coach. ``She kept getting the ball in the middle. The key was when she got an offensive rebound, kicked it back out and Bird hit a 3-point shot.''
The Terriers also failed to hit a 3-point shot, and Botetourt wound up with a 26-24 edge on the boards.
The Cavaliers must guard against a letdown from another emotional battle with Byrd when they face Charlottesville.
``Byrd is a good team and the Blue Ridge is a tough district,'' said Hicks, ``but we'll come out ready to play just as fired up for that game as we were for this game.''
Said Wheat: ``Charlottesville is a powerful, rugged team. What worried me more is we played the late game and we might be a little tired.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines KEYWORDS: 2DAby CNB