Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Dunlap gets win No. 500

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Wednesday, December 20, 2000

Dunlap gets win No. 500
Ray girls rally late, defeat Miller 56-47
By George Vondracek
Caller-Times

Dunlap

Calm, collected and as cool as one could be in a crowded gymnasium with some 600 people on hand, Dave Dunlap's demeanor belied the emotion and intensity surrounding Tuesday night's District 29-5A girls basketball game.
   With yet another coaching milestone in grasp, Dunlap's Ray High School girls team faced a tall task against Miller, a chore made more difficult thanks to an icy 25.9-percent shooting percentage in the first half.
   But as so many of Dunlap' other teams of Lady Texans in the last 23 years, Ray found a way to offset the Lady Buccaneers' size advantage.
   Utilizing a pressing defense - often times using the entire 94 feet of court to do so - and 13-of-16 shooting from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, the Lady Texans handed Dunlap his 500th coaching victory in rallying to beat the Lady Bucs, 56-47, at the Miller gym.
   "He said 500 wins would be nice but he really wanted to be 3-0 in district," said Ray junior Amber Davis, who led all scorers with 20 points. "He wanted us to win for us and to be 3-0 in district, not for 500 wins."
   Dunlap and the Lady Texans got both. With Davis hitting all eight of her free throws during the final eight minutes and Jennifer Head sinking four of six tries, Ray (3-0, 12-4) nullified what had been Miller's strength, the sophomore post play of the 6-foot-5 Tamisha Hamilton and the 6-foot Margaret Wimbish.
   Hamilton finished with 18 points before fouling out and Wimbish has 15. One other Miller starter, Precious Winn, fouled out and another, 5-11 Clatisha Clay, finished with four fouls.
   "We have one kid 6-foot and the rest of us are pretty short," Dunlap said, referring to 6-1 sophomore Lauren Perry, who added 11 points. "But they play with a lot of heart and I think that's what Ray basketball is all about for the 23 years I've been here."
   Dunlap's record stands at 500-256, making him the second Corpus Christi Independent School District coach to reach 500. Bobby Taylor, who coached Carroll's girls, and then boys, from 1976-1998, compiled a 517-209 mark.
   "I'm sure it'll sink in tomorrow a little bit," Dunlap said. "Oh, sure, there are some emotions. But I didn't want any pressure on the kids in saying anything. We approached this like a district game. I never talked to the kids about 500."
   He didn't have to. Everyone knew. As soon as the final buzzer sounded, the Ray faithful donned T-shirts touting Dunlap and his 500 wins. Well-wishers, former players, boosters, CCISD personnel and ex-coaches swarmed the Ray bench to offer congratulations and a plaque recognizing the achievement.
   The Lady Texans later presented Dunlap with a large rectangular cookie with the phrase "Coach Dunlap 500 Wins" spelled out in icing.
   Tuesday's win certainly wasn't a gimme for Ray. With Hamilton and Wimbish pounding the inside, Miller (1-2, 12-7) led by as much as eight points late in the third quarter and had six blocked shots.
   But turning up the pressure at the onset of the fourth quarter, Ray turned three straight turnovers into two free throws from Davis, a basket from Becky Mata (13 points) and a layup from Davis. That helped key a 10-0 run to give Ray a 43-38 lead, one it wouldn't relinquish.
   It was reminiscent of the Lady Bucs' 61-51 loss a week ago Tuesday to Harlingen, in which Miller let a late lead slip away.
   "We got up a couple of times on them," Miller coach Kim Ratliff said. "I felt like we quit doing the things that got us there. Their pressure took us out of our game and we lost our poise."



Staff writer George Vondracek can be reached at 886-3731 or by e-mail at vondracekg@caller.com

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