Towson coach Bev Snyder said she was well acquainted with the multiple talents of North East forward Katie Davis heading into yesterday's Class 2A, North Region final.

Exactly how to stop the 5-foot-10 senior, however, proved to be an enigma.

Davis, who will play for Villanova next season, had 27 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks, leading the visiting Indians of Cecil County on a 17-1 mid-game run that opened a comfortable lead en route to a 61-38 win against the defending state champions.

"We lost to a better team today; there's no question about it," said Snyder, whose team didn't have anybody capable of matching up with Davis. "We don't have anybody that caliber."

North East (22-4) will make its first trip to the Class 2A state semifinals since 1979 when it plays Friday at UMBC.

The versatile Davis, also a standout volleyball player who led North East to the state semifinals last fall, did a little of everything, from dominating in the paint to running the point.

More than offense, however, it was North East's defense that made the biggest difference, holding the ice-cold Generals to 26 percent shooting and keeping them without a field goal during a stretch of 8: 32 from late in the second quarter to late in the third.

Towson guard Lindsay Buchanan, who scored 25 in the Generals' semifinal win over Lansdowne Thursday, was held to five points.

"[Defense] was really important, because they could've gotten their momentum back at any minute," said Davis. "We knew that they had a lot of great shooters, and if we let them start getting on a roll their momentum was going to rise and ours would go down."

The Generals did eventually get on track.

After switching to a zone defense to start the second half, Jessie Ramer (nine points), Kelly Bowersock (seven) and Danie Mosca (six) led their team on a 12-0 run to help cut into a lead that had ballooned to as much as 26 points.

By that time, however, the game was hopelessly out of reach.

"We came out firing on all cylinders," said North East coach Rick Hall, whose team established its dominance from the opening tap by scoring 13 of the game's first 17 points.

Leading 23-15 late in the second quarter, the Indians took command of the game.

They extended their lead to 14 by halftime on Davis' three-point play with 10 seconds left and opening the third quarter with 10 straight points, the last three on another three-point play by Davis, making it 40-16 with 4: 54 left in the third.

Towson was 0-for-10 from the field during the run.

Pub Date: 3/07/99