Burton scores (44) and rebounds (55) to earn Player of the Week honors
By JONATHAN GREENE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph The Bluefield Daily Telegraph Thu Dec 08, 2011, 05:00 AM EST
NARROWS, Va. — Basketball may not be Savanna Burton’s best sport.
The Narrows standout could have fooled several opponents last week though.
Burton tallied 44 points and 54 rebounds in three games as she earned this season’s first Pocahontas Coal Association/ Bluefield Daily Telegraph Player of the Week honors for the 2011-12 campaign.
“She’s very versatile,” Narrows girls basketball coach Wayne Gautier said. “She can play about any position on the floor. This year we’re counting on her leadership. We’re very young around her.
“As far her rebounding, it’s like that’s her ball. She’s going up to attack it like she does in volleyball. She gets up quick and that’s her advantage.”
Burton finished with double-doubles in wins over Eastern Montgomery and Giles including 21 points and 24 boards against the county-rival Spartans. She added nine more points and 15 rebounds in the team’s lone loss to Rural Retreat.
“No, not at all,” said Burton, on whether she expected to have the week she did. “We only have seven players. It’s been a huge group effort. We’re all having to condition extra and learn different positions. It’s been rough starting out.”
Gautier, however, expected those defensive numbers.
“She’s so intense that she’s not going to back down from anything,” he said. “Offensively, we’ve been trying to get that. I was really pleased with the Giles game. She basically took it over rebounding and scoring.”
Burton’s coach compared her rebounding to how she attacks the ball during volleyball where she is a standout for Narrows, having been twice named Mountain Empire District player of the year and earning second-team All-State honors her sophomore season.
Despite her talents on the hardwood, the volleyball court is Burton’s home.
“My mom use to coach at Giles,” Burton said. “I’ve been playing with her and her varsity team since I was 10. I’ve grown up around it and don’t think I could be without it.”
After her senior season is over, volleyball will be Burton’s choice in college. She has already committed to Division I Radford.
“I’m really excited,” she added. “It’s actually a big relief knowing that I know where I’m going.”
Burton, who also was a Group A state champion in the long jump as a sophomore, will follow in her father’s footsteps. Mike Burton played basketball at Radford. Burton’s mother, Erin, played volleyball collegiately at Concord.
“It doesn’t really add pressure,” Savanna said of following her family’s footsteps. “It helps knowing that I have such a strong background behind me to help.”
In addition to her parents, Burton’s cousin, Sidney Lindsey, played basketball at Concord and her younger brother, Chandler, is currently a sophomore for Narrows.
“It’s inspiring,” she added. “It gives me something to look up to.”
While her family has provided inspiration to her, Burton is doing the same for this year’s squad.
“Before with the other girls we had, she was laid back,” Gautier said. “She fit in well with them. They took her under their wing and now you can the difference where she’s the leader. Now, she’s doing the same with the younger kids. You can see the maturity in her this year.”
With the added role of being a leader, Gautier is also expecting big things from Burton on the floor and hopes to see many more games like she had this past week.
“Defensively, she’s always been very reliable,” he added. “Offensively, sometimes she’s unselfish to much to where she needs to look to score more. We feel like were going to see more junk defenses against her later on in the year. She finds her teammates well.
“Overall, she can play point. She plays inside. Her outside shooting is getting better. She’s going to take us as far as she can.”
When teams start to crash down on her, Burton will look to her teammates who she says “have lot of potential.”
“We have two or three really good outside guards and we’re really hefty on posts down low,” Burton added. “I think we’re good all-around, but we’re not as big of a team as we could be.”
No matter how the season goes for the Wave, Burton will have left her mark at Narrows.
“She’s one of the most versatile athletes we’ve ever had here,” Gautier said. “She’s in the process of getting 1,000 points and probably 1,000 rebounds. That speaks for itself.”
— Contact Jonathan Greene
at jgreene@bdtonline.com
HONORABLE MENTION
Girls
Nov. 30-Dec. 4
Bland County (0-1): Kelsey Dinger, 8 points vs. Tazewell; Alyssa Farris, 8 points vs. Tazewell.
Grundy (0-1): Hannah Stiltner, 14 points vs. Tazewell; Savannah Charles, 14 points vs. Tazewell.
Hurley (1-1): Shannon Justus, 20 points; 10 points vs. Wyoming East, 10 points vs. Van; Richelle Stacy, 14 points vs. Van.
James Monroe (1-0): Melissa Johnston, 17 points, 14 rebounds vs. Greenbrier West; Kelsey Mann, 8 points, 6 boards, 3 blocks vs. Greenbrier West.
Montcalm (1-1): Miranda Kendrick, 20 points; 14 points, 5 steals vs. Beckley Christian; Leslie Kelley; 21 points, 12 points, 9 rebounds vs. Beckley Christian, 9 points, 10 boards vs. Richwood; Autumn Bouldin, 6 points, 7 rebounds vs. Richwood, Hannah Johnson, 8 points vs. Richwood.
Narrows (2-0): Tiffany Perdue, 34 points; 21 points, 5 rebounsd, 4 assists, 3 steals vs. Eastern Montgomery, 13 points, 6 rebounds vs. Giles; Amanda Hagerman, 13 points vs. Giles.
Princeton (1-0): McKenzie Akers, 31 points vs. Cabell Midland; Kendria Perkins, 8 points, 11 rebounds vs. Cabell Midland.
River View (1-1): Chelsey Dobbs, 24 points; 15 points, 13 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 blocks vs. Van, 9 points vs. Wyoming East; Samantha Matney, 30 points; 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals vs. Van, Tara Bowles, 11 points, 11 rebounds.
Tazewell (2-1): Taylor Catron, 37 points; 22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists vs. Grundy, 13 points, 9 steals, 4 assists vs. Bland County; Katie Snapp, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals vs. Bland County; Autumn Hash, 13 points, 4 rebounds vs. Grundy; Haley Christian, 8 points vs. Bland, 9 points, 8 rebounds vs. Grundy. Whitney Saunders, 10 points, 6 rebounds vs. Grundy, 6 points vs. Oak Hill (Red).
NOTE—Statistics include games reported to the Daily Telegraph. To make recommendations for the award or to report games, call (304) 327-2813, (800) 763-2459 or email sports@bdtonline.com...The first of 11 boys’ awards will begin next week.