Staunton River knocks out William Byrd
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Ted Allen / Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 25, 2008
MONETA - By turning up the pressure on Virginia 24 rival William Byrd on Monday night, Staunton River's girls basketball team earned a trip to Harrisonburg tonight, when it will challenge Turner Ashby, one of four top seeds in the 12-team Region III tournament.
The Golden Eagles (21-5) used stealthy anticipation to intercept several Terriers' passes and applied a relentless full-court press and half-court trap to force a total of 20 steals in their 53-37 victory. It was their fourth win of the year against William Byrd (6-17) and first regional playoff triumph in 15 years.
"I told the team to touch every pass and keep them scared," Staunton River coach Kim Jones said. "We tried to run and press."
"We kind of extended our zone to trap the ball," Staunton River senior Caitlin Falls added.
"Whoever gets the ball just runs it," Golden Eagles point guard Kelly Jackson said.
Jackson converted three consecutive fast-break layups during a minute-long stretch early in the second quarter, the third after forcing a steal at halfcourt.
"She kind of took control of the game," Jones said of Jackson, who finished with 14 points, tying the Terriers' Samantha Webster for game-high honors. "She was unstoppable going to the basket."
After another turnover caused by Staunton River's halfcourt trap and an inside score by Falls, Jackson punctuated a series of five passes without a dribble in the half-court set by swishing a 3-pointer from the top of the key, padding the lead to 21-8.
"I said 'Let's put them away right here'," said Jones, who played point guard on the last Golden Eagles team that won a regional game, back in 1993.
"If we get up, they kind of get down," said Falls, who finished with eight points and three blocked shots, one right after a Laquaksha Robinson rejection to start the fourth quarter.
As many turnovers as it forced, Staunton River committed nearly as many - a season-high 27 - out of its fast-paced, full-court game. It will have to cut that number down considerably to stand a chance of knocking off Turner Ashby tonight.
"They like to run the ball just like we do," Jones said. "If we run the ball and make smart decisions on the run, we can give them a good game. If our post players step up, our guards will be able to handle their press."
"It's going to be a tough game," Jackson added.
"Especially without T," Falls added, referring to starting forward Talika Robinson, who was suspended for the rest of the season after being ejected from Saturday's Seminole District final against Brookville.
All of her teammates wrote the letter T and her No. 5 on their right arms for Monday's game.
It was likely the last game for either the girls or boys teams at Staunton River Middle, unless the Golden Eagles can win the tournament and earn a first-round home game in next week's Group AA state tournament. To accomplish that, they would have to beat Turner Ashby, the Associated Press' top-ranked team in the state, and Brookville, ranked second, which has dealt Staunton River four of its five losses this season.
The high school's new gym is scheduled to be open by next winter.
Northside 45,
Jefferson Forest 33
Mandy Dix led Jefferson Forest with 16 points, including three 3-pointers but it wasn't enough as Northside downed the Cavaliers in a first-round Region III game.
"(The Viking) did a really good job of packing into a zone defense and forcing us to shoo from the outside," JF coach Tom Brown said. "We were 12-49 from the field. We just didn't well shoot enough to beat a good team like them."
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