THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 28, 1994 TAG: 9409280571
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Although officials are ``letting 'em play'' in Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools girls basketball, Norfolk Christian point guard Jacquie Macklem says it will take more than a few slaps and scratches to prevent her from enjoying the games.
A hard, well-placed elbow to the ribs, however, is another matter.
Last Tuesday, a blow to the midsection sent Macklem sprawling to the floor, where she stayed for some five minutes during the Ambassadors' game against Atlantic Shores.
Macklem now realizes the Seahawks' player was merely trying to set a screen. But at the time. . . .
``It felt like a punch,'' Macklem said. ``She really socked it to me.''
Macklem sat out the remainder of the second quarter, and half of the third. But when she returned, she got even the old-fashioned way - by torching the Crusaders for a series of layups and jumpers. The result was a career-high 30 points in the Ambassadors' 68-60 loss to the Seahawks and this week's Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star's Athlete of the Week award.
The output also served as dramatic evidence of Macklem's steady improvement. As a freshman, the 5-9 Macklem was an honorable mention All-TCIS selection. Last year, she was a second-team All-TCIS pick. And last week's 30-point explosion has been the highlight of a campaign in which she leads the TCIS in scoring (19.9 ppg).
But since the Ambassadors still lost that game, Macklem could take little solace in the personal achievement. So in Monday's game against Catholic - the school from which her two sisters graduated and she attended in eighth grade before transferring to Norfolk Christian - Macklem took matters into her own hands.
With the scored tied at 40 and 7.8 seconds remaining, Macklem dribbled the length of the court and made a layup with two seconds left to give the Ambassadors a 42-40 victory.
Naturally, the play was not without contact. Macklem crashed into a Crusader defender as she flipped the ball toward the hoop. The Crusaders screamed for a charge; the officials ruled it a block.
The victory was only the Ambassadors' fourth in 11 games, and its carryover effect figures to be minimal since Norfolk Christian doesn't play again until Tuesday.
Even so, Macklem says she welcomes the break from the TCIS hoop wars.
``I need time to heal,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Jacqui Macklem
KEYWORDS: ATHLETES OF THE WEEK by CNB