THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503120445
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
By their standards, the Kempsville Chiefs didn't play well Saturday.
Just well enough.
The Chiefs left their ``A'' game in Virginia Beach, but still had enough to subdue James River, 57-52, in a Group AAA state quarterfinal girls basketball game Saturday night at Churchland High.
Kempsville (29-0) will meet Robinson High (25-3) in Thursday's semifinals at Liberty University's Vines Center in Lynchburg at 1 p.m. Robinson upended Cave Spring, 54-43, Friday night.
James Madison (26-1) meets Hampton (24-5) in the other semifinal.
The Chiefs never trailed Saturday, but couldn't break away from the pesky Rapids until they launched a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter, when Kempsville's height advantage began to show.
The run produced a 50-37 Kempsville lead with just over two minutes to play.
``We just told ourselves it was time to play the way we can,'' said Chiefs guard Charlotte Fayton, who finished with 11 points.
Kempsville forward Toni Patillo (eight points) contributed four points in the game-clinching run, a nearly six-minute burst that was highlighted by a Carrie Heath 3-pointer from the left wing - the Chiefs' lone trey of the night. Patillo also drew an offensive charge during the streak, and Kempsville held the Rapids to 1-of-12 shooting from the field.
``We finally started playing to our potential,'' Kempsville's Whitney Richardson said.
Up to that point, Kempsville had succumbed to its own nerves and was turning in one of its most uneven offensive performances of the season. Although they shot just under 50 percent from the field, the Chiefs committed an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers.
In one particularly sloppy sequence bridging the first and second quarters, they surrendered the ball on five of six possessions.
``We're going to have to play a lot smarter if we're going to do anything in Lynchburg,'' Kempsville coach Greg Dunn said.
Kempsville center Carrie Johnson (team-high 12 points) blamed a seven-day layoff and big-game jitters for the lack of precision.
``We were really excited to play this game, but I think we were a little too pumped up,'' Johnson said. ``It's a new experience. None of us have ever been this far before.
``Hopefully, we got all the jitters out.''
While the offense came and went Saturday, Kempsville's defense rarely wavered. The Chiefs were particularly effective against Rapids guard Katie Tracy, the Central Region player of the year.
Tracy tied teammate Shannon Otto for game-high scoring honors with 15 - seven under her average - but was unable to get on a roll with Erin Duckett, Fayton and a host of others in her face.
``She's a good player,'' Fayton said. ``We just had to watch her fakes, and if she got by us, hope we got help.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
GARY C. KNAPP
Carrie Johnson of Kempsville puts up a shot against Katie Tracy,
right, and Sara Phenix.
by CNB