Burns High School - Blazes Yearbook (Lawndale, NC)

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TOP — The “Lady Bulldogs” huddle around coach Pruett for some mid-game strategy. MIDDLE LEFT — Beverly Wright shoots a shot over two North Gaston players. MIDDLE RIGHT — Annette Whitworth shoots a crucial i q free throw in the game against Shelby. BOT- TOM — After the rebound, the Lady Bulldogs drive down the court in the first quarter against Chase. SILL WAS Tiille en The girls’ varsity basketball team finished the season with an explosive 13-5 record. The key to the team’s suc- cess was the experience of the six re- turning varsity players. In the first six games of the season, Burns lost only one game, to Crest by a score of 51-42. Gail Williams put up a nobel effort to save the game by scoring twelve points and Denise Williams had fourteen rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs’ winning streak was interrupted when Shelby defeated Burns 47-36. Burns returned and beat North Gaston 55-42 with Annette Whitworth having most rebounds and Gail Williams as high scorer. The girls then lost to East Gaston by a score of 56-50 and to R.S. Central by a score of 56-54 Next came what proved to be the most exciting game of the season with Crest losing to the Bulldogs 51-50 in overtime. In the fourth quarter with six seconds left on the clock, the Chargers led by two points, but Burns executed well after a missed free throw. Beverly Wright got control of the ball and made a lay-up, but was fouled as the buzzer sounded. The successful free throw with no time remaining brought another Bulldog victory. Burns kept on winning for the next four games. Beverly Wright was the high scorer in each game with an aver- age of twenty points per game. The girls then lost to Shelby with Beverly having fifteen points in the 52-42 game. There was a 57-27 victory over North Gaston and in the last game of the sea- son, the Lady Bulldogs defeated East Gaston 61-50 with Gail Williams scor- ing twenty points. Basketball 23

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TOP LEFT: Gail Williams puts the ball up over her Shelby opponent. TOP RIGHT: Gail Williams takes the ball to the hoop for two in the game against Crest. BOTTOM: Senior Lorna Withrow intimidates her opponent on the inbounds pass in the Shelby game. 22 Basketball

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MISTAKES STOP GUALS East Gaston was the host school for the Southwestern Conference High School Basketball Tournament. Burns’ girls went into the tournament with a 12-6 record and were seeded third. The Lady Bulldogs defeated their first opponent, North Gaston, 50-38. “Our pressure defense really worked well for us. Then, the full-court press helped us generate some turnovers for east baskets in the final period,’ coach Pruett stated. ‘“‘The transition game was a big boost down the stretch.’’ Beverly Wright led the team’s offensive play with 18 points and Gail Williams added 15 points, 14 of them in the final quarter. Denise Williams had five assists and 13 re- bounds, and Annette Whitworth also had five assists. In the semi-final game, Burns’ girls faced t he Kings Mountain Lady Mountaineers. The final outcome of that game was 50-48 in Kings Moun- tain’s favor. At the end of the first period, the Lady Bulldogs had a 10-2 edge, but Kings Mountain fought back and with six minutes remaining in the last period, were ahead by elev- en points. Persistant defensive play enabled the Lady Bulldogs to tie the score at 44 with 1:50 remaining. However, Kings Mountain pulled away and although Burns tied the score twice more, a shot by the Lady Mounties with one second on the clock won the game for Kings Moun- tain. Coach Pruett commented, ‘I thought we played hard and hustled, but made some mental mistakes that were the downfall for the Lady Bulldogs.” Beverly Wright scored 13 points for Burns and Annette Whit- worth scored 10. The girls met St. Stephens in the first round of the District 7 Tourna- ment held at Mooresville. They ad- vanced into the semi-final round by beating St. Stephens 64-62 in over- time. In this round they again squeezed out another win, beating South Iredell 51-50. In the finals, the lady Bulldogs were dumped by a fired up Statesville team 57-50. 24 Basketball Late in the id obbue Meptt-buc-vus be cel-Meh i Ow abet-lu-t-beale against Kings Mountain, Beverly Wright grabs a rebound. c