By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph


NARROWS, Va. — The Narrows Lady Wave turned up the pressure on the ball in the second half on Friday night, erasing a five-point halftime deficit and beating Bland County 54-49 in the Patteson Gymnasium at Narrows High.

A freshman led the way. Shelby Baker scored 23 points and pulled down 19 rebounds for Narrows (5-4).

She crashed hard to the floor with 26 seconds left in the first half, and walked off the court with tears in her eyes. She returned in the second half to score 15 more points and to dominate under the boards.

Narrows head coach Wayne Gautier said, “She made a big difference in the second half. … She's a freshman. She's been great for us inside.”

“We thought we'd be in trouble, when she went out.”

The Lady Wave sank eight of 31 field-goal tries in the first half and was 2 for 8 at the free throw line. The Lady Bears made it quite a game, with Kristin Dillow scoring nine points and Malee Lambert netting eight before the break. Bland County led 23-18 at intermission.

“The first half, it was pretty equal, evenly balanced,” said Gautier. “So we had to start attacking. We've got a couple of girls who can put some pressure on the ball.”

That they did. Shana Davis, Courtney Smith and company forced numerous turnovers and Narrows grabbed defensive rebounds, pulling ahead for good on a baseline drive by Davis with 5:29 left in the third quarter, for a 42-41 lead.

With Baker drawing atention in the paint and the guards distributing the ball around the floor, Narrows pulled away from there.

Gautier said, “Every year we play them, it's nip and tuck. Jason does a good job getting those players ready to play.”



At Patteson Gymnasium

BLAND COUNTY (49)

Malee Lambert 6 2-2 16, Linsey Dean 2 0-0 4, Amber Eaton 3 6-10 12, Danielle Russo 1 0-2 2, Tori Smith 0 1-2 1, Kristin Dillow 6 0-2 `14. Totals 18 9-18 49.

NARROWS (54)

Samantha Weatherly 2 2-3 6, Peyton Carter 2 2-4 6, Shana Davis 3 0-3 6, Tiffany Perdue 2 5-10 9, Shelly Baker 9 5-8 23, Courtney Smith 1 0-0 2, Megan Weatherly 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 14-28 54.

Bland County.......................10 13 14 12 — 49

Narrows.................................11 7 18 18 — 54

3-point goals – BC 4 (Lambert 2, Dillow 2). NHS none.