By JONATHAN GREENE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — The Richlands Lady Blues waited a long time for their first regional title on the hardwood. The wait for the second was a lot shorter.
It took a strong second half effort as the Lady Blues overcame a two-point halftime deficit to run by Abingdon 53-38 on Friday night for the Region IV, Division 3 championship.
“We wanted this from the start,” Richlands sophomore guard Brittany Allen said. “After last year winning the region, it was a big step for us. We were craving it this year.”
Allen paced Richlands’ attack with 24 points including 17 in the second half. Mackenley Davis added 11 for the Lady Blues (17-9) who outscored the Falcons 32-15 after the break to claim their second straight region crown.
“The win tonight is not only for the region championship, but you get to play close to home at Virginia High next Saturday instead of having to travel to Harrisonburg,” Richlands head coach Dennis Palmer said. “The region championship is big, but that’s big also.”
Abingdon (6-22) kept the game close for most the game until the fourth quarter when their shots stopped falling. A Hannah Bays’ three with 4:13 remaining was the final points from the Falcons as Richlands closed the game on an 11-0 run.
“Richlands had a great strategy,” Abingdon head coach Jimmy Brown said. “Making us shoot [outside] and we struggled. We didn’t hit very many tonight.
“We didn’t get on the offensive glass very well either. I tell you they played well tonight. Played better than us and they won the ball game.”
The Lady Blues won the tip and got off to quick start when Allen hit Cassie Richardson for an easy lay-up less than 10 seconds in. Bays tied the game before Allen hit from deep then found Davis open for three.
Abingdon battled back to tie the game then took their first lead on a three by Madison Turner, but Richlands’ Jordyn Cole answered with a three right before the buzzer to tie the game at 11.
Bays started the second quarter off with two free throws then a three to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the game at 16-11. It quickly vanished as Davis hit from deep again before Allen added a jumper following an Abingdon turnover. The teams traded baskets before the Falcons connected on four straight free throws to take a 23-21 advantage into the break.
“Abingdon’s been on a roll here these last two weeks,” Palmer said. “They’re playing real well. It was not so much us, but them.
“They’re playing well right now. I think we felt threatened in the first half that they could us beat us. We came out and played better in the second half.”
The game remained a back-and-forth affair as Richlands regained the lead following Cole’s second three of the night. Abingdon kept battling and took their final lead on a three from Bays with 4:14 left in the third. Allen would then drive to the basket for the hoop and foul which sent the Falcons’ best defender, Kayla Hilt, to the bench with four fouls.
“That hurt us a lot. Kayla held [Brittany] Allen to 15 points [combined] in the two games during the regular season,” Brown said. “She got in foul trouble and we had to put someone else on her. We really miss Hilt’s intensity on defense when she’s not on the floor.”
With Hilt on the Bench, Allen took it coast-to-coast then Cole added a jumper as Richlands led 34-31 after three.
A three by Allen made it a six-point lead, but the Falcons went on one last run as Turner nailed a jumper then Katelyn Stewart scored her only points of the contest. Abingdon would add only one more basket, Bays’ three, the rest of the night.
“We were more concerned about [Katelyn] Stewart early, but we kind of contained her,” Palmer said of a transition to a box-and-one defense late. “[Hannah] Bays was hurting us outside with three’s, we just tried to shut her down and make somebody else shoot the ball.”
The strategy worked perfect as the Falcons couldn’t buy a bucket and were forced to foul Richlands. The Lady Blues nailed seven of their first eight attempts down the stretch to seal the victory.
Cole added eight points for Richlands while Richardson finished with six. The Lady Blues hit seven 3’s while Abingdon made four.
Richlands will play the loser of the Region III, Division 3 championship game next Saturday at Virginia High.
“It feels great,” Allen said of staying close to home. “Going to Virginia High is much better than traveling to James Madison. We’re happy about that.”
Abingdon, who started the season off 0-19, will most likely travel to Harrisonburg for their quarterfinal matchup.
“I’m still extremely proud. We’re going to go home and regroup. See if we can pull one off next week,” Brown said.
— Contact Jonathan Greene
at jgreene@bdtonline.com

at Richlands Middle School
ABINGDON (6-22)
Oliva Ball 0 0-0 0, Kayla Hilt 0 0-0 0, Madison Turner 4 0-2 9, Lydia Billips 1 1-2 4, Kathryn Harrison 0 2-2 2, Emily Greer 0 0-0 0, Tess McNeilin 0 0-0 0, Hannah Bays 4 2-2 13, Katelyn Stewart 1 0-0 2, Taylor Blevins 3 2-2 8. Totals: 13 7-10 38.
RICHLANDS (17-9)
Montana Hearl 0 0-0 0, Mackenley Davis 3 2-2 11, Cassie Richardson 1 4-8 6, Brittany Allen 8 6-9 24, Jordyn Cole 3 0-2 8, Sarah Compton 1 0-0 2, Rachel Alley 1 0-2 2. Totals: 17 12-23 53.
Abingdon...........................11 12 8 7 — 38
Richlands...........................11 10 13 19 — 58
3 pt field goals: ABI 4 (Bays 3, Turner); RIC 7 (Davis 3, Allen 2, Cole 2). Fouled out: Hilt, Turner. Technicals: none.