THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503170685
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Kempsville High was done in by an eight-minute stretch.
For eight minutes in the girls' basketball state semifinals, the Chiefs scored just two points. Against a team as talented as James Robinson, that was way too long.
Robinson went on a 15-2 run that started near the end of the first quarter and lasted almost the entire second quarter, then made it stand for a 63-49 victory Thursday afternoon.
The Rams (26-3) will meet James Madison (29-1) in Saturday's Group AAA girls final at Liberty University's Vines Center at 7 p.m. Madison beat Hampton, 59-45, in the other semifinal.
Kempsville finished its season 29-1.
During Robinson's big run, Kempsville hit just 1 of 9 field-goal attempts and committed five turnovers.
``We weren't working it around and we didn't get it inside at all,'' said Kempsville center Carrie Johnson, ``And the inside was open.''
Johnson, Kempsville's leading scorer and a first-team All-Tidewater selection, was limited to just eight field-goal attempts, making four and finishing with eight points, seven below her average.
Meanwhile, her counterpart, Robinson's Kate Von Holle, scored a game-high 22 points.
``They outmuscled us and outrebounded us,'' Kempsville's Charlette Fayton said. ``And when we couldn't get the rebounds, we couldn't run.''
Ironically, official statistics credited Kempsville with a 34-33 rebounding edge.
``What do they consider a rebound?'' Kempsville coach Greg Dunn said. ``I would be totally shocked if that stat is true. But maybe it was more important that they got the ball inside against us and scored.
``We'd been able to handle one good interior player this season. But they had three. We have to hit the weight room this summer to be able to match up to a team like that.''
Robinson forward Kim Oakes added 12 points while forward Stephanie Schwandt collected eight rebounds.
Leading 33-19 at the break, Robinson did little to allow the Chiefs a chance to get back in it. And when Kempsville saw a glimmer of hope, Robinson snuffed it.
The Chiefs cut Robinson's lead to 35-25 early in the third quarter. But the Rams answered with a 3-pointer and two free throws by Mandy Ronay and another 3-pointer by Karen Zee, extending the lead to 43-29. They were Robinson's only 3-pointers.
``Those two 3s were the key to the game,'' Dunn said. ``We had finally forced them outside. When they hit those shots, we were between a rock and a hard place. And there's not too much you can do about that.''
``The 3-pointer is the slam dunk of women's basketball,'' Robinson coach Dwight Trimmer said. ``It can drive a stake through your heart.''
The closest Kempsville got after that was when Erin Duckett hit two free throws with 5:27 left to cut Robinson's lead to 51-44. But Von Holle scored five unanswered points as the Rams upped their advantage to 56-44 with 3:30 left.
Sophomore forward Toni Patillo led the Chiefs with 11 points while Fayton finished with 10.
``It's not disappointing,'' Fayton said. ``We won 29 straight games to get here and had a great season. It hurts to lose. But we're going to come back next year even better.'' by CNB