THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503080216
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER AND JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
A YEAR AGO, the All-Southeastern District girls basketball team averaged 71 points per game.
Tough to beat?
Well, the 1994-95 team picked by the coaches of the eight schools can do it. The five players sport a sparkling 75.2 average.
Senior Tamara Sivels of Deep Creek, who scored in double figures in every game, was selected as the most valuable player.
And what an about-face it was for the 5-9 forward/guard. A year ago, she did not get a single vote for the all-district team.
``Tamara had an excellent season. Our success - we were 16-5 - was due to her contributions,'' said Hornets coach Otis Etheridge of Sivels, who had a 17.2 scoring average. ``She played wherever we asked her to play and did whatever she had to do to contribute to the team.''
The other first-team picks are Churchland's Kizzy Butler and Nicole Council, Oscar Smith's Kizzy Dunbar and Great Bridge's LaShelle Griffin.
Butler, a 5-2 point guard who led Churchland to the regular-season championship, was the only first-team repeater. It was her third consecutive appearance on the all-district team.
She averaged 12.5 points. ``I think the best description I have heard of Kizzy came from one of the officials who worked several of our games,'' said Churchland coach Duke Conrad. ``He called her `lightning in a bottle.' ''
Teammate Council led the district in scoring with a 19.2 average and was third in South Hampton Roads.
``She's a junior and will be a great player to build our team around next year,'' said Conrad. ``Nicole can play any position. She was our scoring leader, No. 2 in rebounding and No. 2 in assists.''
Dunbar, a 5-7 senior guard, blossomed out as the season progressed. She was the MVP in the Southeastern District tournament, leading Oscar Smith to its first tourney crown ever. She averaged 12.9 in the regular season but had 83 points in the three district tournament games.
``She started off up and down with scoring, but the second part of the season she realized she needed to step up,'' said Oscar Smith coach Patty Walsh. ``She was determined to go out a winner.''
Griffin, a 5-8 forward/guard and a junior, topped Great Bridge's scorers with a 13.4 average. She sparked the Wildcats to a second-place finish in the regular season and a runner-up spot in the district tournament.
``She got a lot of honors this year, but to be first team all-district is wonderful. She's up there with a lot of great players,'' said Great Bridge coach Ro Moore. ``She matured over the summer and decided she needed to be a scorer this year.''
The second team included three seniors and two juniors. The seniors are Deep Creek's Michelle Boyd, Wilson's Latoya Owens and Indian River's Deshawn Whitley. The juniors are Western Branch's Brandi Woodard and Oscar Smith's Starr Parker.
Boyd also was a second-team choice last year. Owens, Whitley and Woodard were honorable mentions.
Moore was picked as coach of the year. ILLUSTRATION: Sivels
Deep Creek
Griffin
G. Bridge
Council
Churchland
Butler
Churchland
Dunbar
O. Smith
1994-95 ALL-SOUTHEASTERN GIRLS TEAMS
[For a copy of the roster, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB