ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200028
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS LANG STAFF WRITER
The Pulaski County girls basketball team found out Wednesday night that when it comes to postseason play, nothing comes easily.
The Cougars, the top seed in the Roanoke Valley District Tournament, shook off a sluggish first half in which they trailed by as many five points before pulling away for an 80-60 victory over Franklin County at Cave Spring High School.
The Cougars advance to Friday's championship game at the Salem Civic Center, where they will meet William Fleming, which shocked second-seeded Cave Spring 57-54 in overtime in the second half of Wednesday's semifinals .
The Cougars defeated the Colonels twice during the regular season.
Sophomore guard Trina Williams led the Cougars with 18 points, 15 in the second half. Franklin County center Natasha Williams matched Williams with 18 to lead the Eagles.
"I really do think we were overconfident," Trina Williams said. "We though we had it made coming into this, but I don't know why we thought that. We went down to Franklin last Saturday and it was a really tough game."
The Cougars appeared to be headed for that same kind of battle Wednesday night. After crawling out to a 5-0 lead in a slow-paced first quarter, Franklin County came to life. Williams hit the Eagles first bucket with 4:36 left in the first quarter, to cut the lead to 5-2, and that started the ball rolling.
After a Kelli Preston shot and subsequent foul shot with 6:58 left in the first half put the Eagles up 16-11, Pulaski County woke up. The pace of the game quickened considerably, and the Cougars ran their run-and-gun offense to a 34-30 halftime advantage.
"We're much better that way," said Cougars coach Buddy Farris. "That's the way our game is run. We usually press the whole game and run the ball up and down the floor. That's our game, but our press really wasn't working against this team."
Pulaski County opened things up in the second half with a tougher press that forced three quick Franklin County turnovers. Williams drained the only 3-pointer of the game by either team to start a 7-0 in the first minute and a half of the third quarter that put Pulaski County ahead 41-30. The Eagles would get no closer than eight points after that.
"We really felt like if we came out in the third quarter and kept it tight we would be all right," Franklin County assistant coach Ann Crutchfield said. "But they went in and made the adjustments they needed to halftime. But our kids never gave up."
The change in defensive intensity in the second half worked wonders for the Cougars. They forced 13 second-half turnovers and turned those opportunities into transition baskets, many of them by Williams.
While Williams was shut down by the Eagles defense in the first half, forward Sarah Donald stepped up for the Cougars, scoring 11 of her 15 points in the second period to help spark the Cougars on offense.
"Sarah has been a really big plus for us," Farris said. "She's worked really hard in the off-season and she's much better than she was back at the beginning of the season."
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB