Athlete of the Week for the period of Dec. 9-14, 1996. She and other athletes of the week will be honored at the One Valley Bank Athlete of the Year Banquet which will be held at the end of the school year.
Lincoln coach Jeff Osbourn said Hutson's success can be attributed to hard work.
"She's worked very hard and deserves any honor she gets," said Osbourn. "She's played very well for us and has given us a boost with her performance."
Athletes of the week for Dec. 16-21 and Dec. 23-Jan. 4 will be announced on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Other girls basketball players nominated for Dec. 9-14 are:
_ Notre Dame's Toni Kay Oliverio scored 12 points in the Irish's 48-44 loss to Clay-Battelle and 25 points in the 47-30 win over South Harrison.
_ Chrissy Luchuck of Lincoln scored 23 and 15 points in the Cougars two wins.
_ Robert C. Byrd's Leah Yertzell scored 17 and 13 points as the Eagles went 1-1.
_ South Harrison' Amber Morrison led the Hawks with 14 and 12 points, respectively, in their losses to Lincoln and Notre Dame.
_ Clarice Dent had 14 points and nine points during the Irish's 1-1 week.
_ Julie Bee of Liberty scored 11 in the Mountaineers' 71-33 loss to Philip Barbour.
_ Beth Guzzi of Bridgeport averaged 11 points a game in the Indians' 53-52 loss to Preston and a 52-44 win against North Marion.
_ Teresa Medina averaged 10.5 points in the Cougars' two wins.
_ SH's Melissa Dawson scored 10 and nine points in two losses.
_ Jackie Codling averaged 8.5 points during the Indians' 1-1 week.
_ Peggy Scott had 17 in BHS's win over Preston.
Updated January 8, 1997
Updated January 8, 1997
Oliverio's Return Boosts
Notre Dame by St. Marys
Notre Dame came into this season with high hopes _ the key was to avoid the injuries that derailed their campaign a year ago.
However, when Toni Kay Oliverio went down in the fifth game of the season, flashbacks of the past couple years came to mind.
But, that was put to rest Saturday. In her first game back, Oliverio erased any doubts of her health as she poured in a game-high 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 48-35 victory over St. Marys Saturday afternoon at the Notre Dame gymnasium.
The 5-7 senior displayed good quickness going to the hoop and looked to have recovered from the sprained knee she suffered against Doddridge County.
"This was Toni Kay's first game back," commented Notre Dame coach Steve Gibson. "We had to rest her a couple times because she didn't get to practice over Christmas break and she was a little winded, but I think as she gets her wind back she'll be all right."
The Irish jumped out to a 22-6 lead midway through the second quarter and held St. Marys scoreless for the first 5:31 of the second canto. But soon, NDHS turned cold and the Devils heated up. St. Mary's went on an 8-0 run to end the first half and trailed just 22-14 at the break.
With the momentum going the Devils' way, the Irish quickly extinguished the visitors' flicker of hope as they used a 6-0 run at the end of the third period to gain control.
Up 11 points at the start of the fourth stanza, the Irish put the game out of reach as Oliverio scored eight points and Clarice Dent grabbed four of her game-high 10 rebounds.
"Basically I told them at the half to come out and play with the same intensity they did at the beginning of the game," related Gibson. "All during Christmas break, I've been preaching about their intensity and playing to their top performance which they haven't been doing this far. I think we have a lot better team than we've been showing everybody."
He added, "Today in the first quarter and most of the second they played with that intensity. When they play like they're capable of, I don't think we can be stopped. Lately we haven't been gelling as a unit and teams are beating us and making things close. But today was the best game we've played all season and we can build on that."
Notre Dame returns to action Tuesday at home against Calhoun County.
St. Marys (35)
Noland 5 4-5 14; Bonner 1 0-0 2; Lamp 1 3-6 5; Perkins 1 2-4 4; Locke 4 0-1 8; Anderson 1 0-0 2; Totals 13 9-16 35.
Notre Dame (48)
Vozniak 3 0-0 6; Dent 2 2-4 6; Oliverio 6 9-9 22; Freeman 1 0-2 2; Martino 4 0-0 8; Ferro 2 0-0 4; Totals 18 11-15 48.
St. Marys
6
8
9
12_35
Notre Dame
13
9
12
14_48
3-point goals:
Oliverio.
Updated January 7, 1997
Surging Cougars Prepare For
Major Test _ No. 1 Tucker Co.
SHINNSTON _ With his team cruising along at 7-0, Lincoln girls basketball coach Jeff Osbourn is enjoying the season. But, he also knows there are plenty of obstacles in his team's path, none greater than this Friday's showdown with Class AA defending state champion Tucker County.
"They have the best team in the state, regardless of class," said Osbourn. "They've lost one game in two years, the title game two years ago. And their jayvees haven't lost since 1992. They have a great program."
But, the Cougars are well on their way to building one of their own. And Friday's contest in Shinnston will be a good measuring stick for Osbourn's squad.
"We want to get some idea where we stand," stated Osbourn, whose team has been winning by an average of 26.3 points per game. "They are a dominating team. I think Parkersburg Catholic played them the closest, and it was like 84-64. They beat Martinsburg by like 40.
"This game will give us a chance to evaluate ourselves against the best. We're looking forward to it."
Osbourn said LHS must be able to break the Mountain Lions' press and handle their inside game.
"When we played them last year we had all kinds of trouble trying to break their press. And rebounding will be a problem because they are so much bigger. They have a couple of six-footers that are good players."
The Cougars, who play at Liberty Monday, will bring a talented team into the contest led by seniors Chrissy Luchuck and Stacey Lambert. Luchuck is a talented guard while Lambert is a solid small forward.
While those two have been providing points and leadership, the Cougars' attack has been solidified by the play of two freshmen _ Tabitha Hutson and Teresa Medina.
Hutson is a great ball-handler that can also score while Medina has been on fire from the field, making 15 of her last 20 shots.
Jessica Barron and Jody Lambert, both sophomores, have provided good play in the paint while Osbourn says he has several other players that can contribute.
Osbourn said the game will be a valuable learning experience for his young squad.
"The girls know about Tucker and it will be a learning experience," said Osbourn. "We're going to try some different things and see how we handle them and how they handle them.
"If we're fortunate to get to the state tournament, we'd probably have to face them in the first round so we want to see what we can learn (during the two regular season games). If we end up playing them three times, the time I would like to beat them would be in the state tournament."
But, the veteran mentor knows that his team will face more than just this one obstacle the second half of the season.
"We've got a difficult stretch coming up," related Osbourn. "We've got to play Bridgeport on the road, Philip Barbour on the road, Preston ... we've got some tough games.
"But, the girls have great attitudes and they have confidence. It's a good group."
So good, that Osbourn has no doubts he made the right decision when he took over the girls program last year after spending his career coaching boys.
"These girls are close knit," commented Osbourn. "Most of them have played together since the fifth grade. We just don't have problems.
"We go to church together, we visited a nursing home before Christmas, we go bowling. It's just a nice bunch of girls. We're having a great time."
And, thus far, a great season.
Updated January 7, 1997
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