THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9502280393
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE DENN, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Going into Monday night's Eastern Regional girls quarterfinal game against Menchville, the strategy for the Maury Commodores was simple - hold the ball and try to stay close.
But executing that plan was not so easy. Menchville used a half-court trap defense, forcing the Commodores into repeated turnovers, and breezed to a 75-28 victory at Menchville High School.
``We wanted to stall as much as we could,'' said Maury coach Bobby Howlett. ``We wanted to try to go into the fourth quarter down by 10 points or so and see what happened.
``But we weren't patient,'' added Howlett. ``We didn't move the ball well and we paid the price.''
Maury (8-14) never had much of a chance. The Commodores fell behind, 17-2, in the first five minutes, effectively ruining their strategy.
It didn't help Maury's chances that Menchville, now 25-1, hit its first eight shots from the floor while Maury missed eight of its first nine shots. And the Commodores also had five turnovers in the first five minutes.
Japrunike Crandell ended a five-minute Maury scoreless spell with a 3-pointer with 2:05 left in the first quarter. But the Monarchs just kept pouring it on.
By halftime it was 36-11. Maury had 14 turnovers and was shooting just 16.7 percent from the field (3-18). By comparison Menchville hit 52 percent in the first 16 minutes, including 8-11 in the first period.
``They were bigger, more agile and had better shooters than we did,'' Howlett said. ``Menchville has a great team.''
The Monarchs dominated every aspect of play. Candice Edwards led the way with 19 points and 14 rebounds, Chalois Lias added 17 points and 13 rebounds and Danielle Dawson had 11 points and 10 assists.
Lias also played a big role when Maury did get the ball inside. She blocked seven shots. by CNB