DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709120259

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JAY LIDINGTON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   56 lines

COACH HOPES WIN WILL BOOST TEAM

An emotional win over a crosstown rival could be the key to a successful season - at least that's what Alliance Christian girl's basketball coach Cam Childress hopes.

His team defeated Portsmouth Christian 32-31 Tuesday in the Falcons' first Metro Conference game. Alliance was outscored 19-9 in the fourth quarter, but held on for the win.

With a 2-4 overall record, Childress said he saw signs of his team developing into a contender for the conference championship.

``We played exceptionally well as a team,'' Childress said. ``We didn't get intimidated and we played up to our level.''

The Falcons hope to improve on a .500 record last season and are lead by returning seniors Jessica Wilkens and Stephanie Glisan. Juniors Micki Riggs, Danielle Ambrose and sophomore center/forward Amy Gray also figure heavily in the success of the team, Childress said.

Sophomore forward Dawn Rawlings, promoted from last year's junior varsity squad, as well as freshmen Rachel Pierce and Desi Feyer, junior Danya Tineo and senior Heidi O'Brien are key newcomers.

``We're going to be a decent team,'' he said. ``We could win the conference. It depends on our heads. We must be mentally into the game.''

Alliance soccer: Alliance basketball is making a sizeable contribution to the fortunes of the school's boy's soccer team this year, coach Kent White said.

White recruited four players from last year's basketball team to beef up a thin soccer squad and the group is making progress, he said. The school has only about 160 boys in grades K-12, making depth a concern.

``We're got 5-6 good soccer players. The rest are good athletes,'' White said. ``It's going to be a learning process. We're going to go hard-nosed at it.''

Seniors Jamael Boone, Damien Byrd and Tommy Smith are the players recruited from the basketball team. At 6-foot-2-inches with good hands and agility, Boone already is developing into a quality goalkeeper for the team, White said.

Returning seniors Shawn Tibbetts, Chad Feyer, Aaron Kelly-Young, Stacy Roberson and Mike Hawley will help lead the team, along with junior striker Chris Honeycutt and sophomore Troy Tibbetts.

With a 1-3 record and 15 varsity players, the Falcons don't have much depth, but they have managed to be competitive with tough teams, including Norfolk Collegiate in a recent tournament.

Playing its fourth game in 48 hours, Alliance trailed Collegiate 1-0 at the 17:00 mark, only to give up eight goals in the game's final minutes en route to a 9-0 loss. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by HUY NGUYEN

Alliance Christian's Stephanie Glisan, second from right, jumps for

the ball against Portsmouth Christian's Lori LeMoir, center.

Alliance won the conference opener 32-31.

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