THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9502280436
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Somebody forgot to tell the Oscar Smith girls basketball team that Kempsville was 25-0 and ranked No. 1 in the area.
Everywhere they looked for nearly 27 minutes, all the Chiefs saw were Tigers - fast, scrappy, fearless Tigers.
But eventually, Kempsville gained control of this helter-skelter Eastern Region quarterfinal at Kempsville and won running away, 68-55, to advance to a 6 p.m. Wednesday semifinal at Churchland against Peninsula champion Menchville. The Monarchs (25-1) crushed Maury, 75-28.
Hampton and Churchland will follow in the second semifinal.
``We knew we had to come in and play hard, and we knew they were going to doubt us,'' Oscar Smith's 4-foot-11 point guard Krystal Johnson said. ``I think we shocked them and I'm real proud of what we did tonight. We had them.''
For a while, it appeared that way.
Kempsville (26-0) held a 29-23 halftime lead despite horrendous (9-for-20) foul shooting. But the Tigers clawed their way back in the third, slashing the margin to 44-43 going into the final quarter.
With 18 seconds left in the third, sixth-ranked Oscar Smith (17-10) actually took the lead at 43-42 on Starr Parker's layup and foul shot. But Kempsville's Erin Duckett converted an inside shot with three seconds left to give her team back a lead it would somehow hold on to.
Kempsville opened the fourth with a 6-0 run, only to have Oscar Smith go on its own 6-0 run to stay within one.
``(Oscar Smith) was very physical,'' said Kempsville center Carrie Johnson, who led all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds. ``They played some aggressive defense and we're just not used to that style of play. There was a lot of contact, and our shots weren't falling.''
From the foul line, the Chiefs were 16 of 31 (51.6 percent), while Oscar Smith was 21 of 27 (77.7 percent). Kempsville suffered even more so from the field, hitting just 26 of 77 shots (38 percent).
Kristen Cholewa had 12 points and six rebounds for the Chiefs, while Charlette Fayton had 15 and 10 boards. Toni Patillo had 17 rebounds. Kizzy Dunbar led Oscar Smith with 15. Parker had 10 and Courtney Spencer 11. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/ Staff
Kempsville's Carrie Heath, center, drives against Tushima Tatem,
left, and Starr Parker of Oscar Smith during No. 1 Kempsville's win
Monday night.
by CNB