By GARY DOVE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BRADSHAW — Mount View captured the Little General Invitational championship Friday night in a wild 34-26 affair with host River View.

The turnover-riddled contest saw the Lady Raiders going cold from the field after taking a 9-5 lead at the 1:18 mark of the inaugural frame and not hitting again from the floor until the 7:01 point of the third, to cut the deficit at that time to 19-16.

Junior Keisha Johnson and senior Gezelle Brown led the Lady Knights to the decision with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Freshman Katie Dobbs was the top River View scorer with 15, followed by Kiersten Dority’s nine, as only three Lady Raiders broke into the scoring column.

Dobbs started the scoring with a three point play 2:12 into the first chapter, as she scored the initial five River View points and Brown did likewise for the Lady Knights.

With the count knotted at five, Dority hit a six foot jumper and then added a bucket on a Dobbs pass for the 9-5 lead.

Johnson’s deuce off a loose ball cut the deficit to 9-7 at the period’s end.

The Mount View run continued to open the second stanza, ending at 10 consecutive points and a 15-9 Lady Golden Knight advantage.

Dority briefly interrupted the streak with three foul shots before Jasmine Lash scored from inside and Johnson sank a pair of freebies to put the lead at 19-12 at the break.

Six consecutive River View points to open the second half cut the Lady Knight lead to 19-17, but that was as close as the hosts would get the remainder of the way.

After Ellamae Johnson canned a pair of foul tries, Dobbs added a fielder, the first since the initial quarter, and then made one freebie for the 19-17 score.

Of his club’s title win, first year Mount View head coach Harold Smith remarked, “A win is a win, even if it’s an ugly win. It’s a work in progress. I’m a new coach with a whole lot of new girls. We’re not playing up to our capabilities, and the girls know that.”

“We can do nothing but improve and a game like this can help us some,” continued Coach Smith of his Lady Knights, who are now 3-0.

Assessed River View head coach Gehrig Justice, “I think our youth showed tonight. We made a lot of mistakes and turnovers because of our youth and inexperience.”

The Lady Raiders drop to 1-2 with the setback.

Mount View will entertain Man, Monday evening, while River View will be at home against Liberty Raleigh, Tuesday night.

In the consolation game of the tournament, Mountain Mission led Independence 17-16 at the half, but outscored the Lady Patriots 28-13 in the second half to take third place with a 45-29 win.

Lensa Asefa led the Lady Challenger offense with 23 points, while Betty Fekadu finished with 14. Chloe Layne and Faith Fortner scored 10 and 9 points respectively for the 0-3 Lady Patriots.

Mountain Mission stands at 4-5 with the win.

Brown was selected as tournament MVP, while teammates Johnson and Kaitlyn Gillespie were chosen to the all-tournament team.

Dobbs and Dority represented River View on the team, while Asefa and Brook were chosen from Mountain Mission. Independence had Layne and Fortner on the all-tourney squad.



At Bradshaw

Championship game

MOUNT VIEW (3-0)

Tamia Joyce 0 2-5 2, Keisha Johnson 5 2-3 12, Kaitlyn Gillespie 3 0-0 6, Victoria Bright 0 1-2 1, Gezelle Brown 4 2-8 10, Jasmine Lash 1 1-2 3. Totals 13 8-20 34.

RIVER VIEW (1-2)

Kiersten Dority 3 3-4 9, Ellamae Johnson 0 2-2 2, Katie Dobbs 6 3-10 15, Rebekah Christian 0 0-1 0. Totals 9 8-17 26.

Mount View.........................7 12 6 9 — 34

River View..........................9 3 7 7 — 26

3-point goals — None. Technical fouls — MV (Brown 1). Fouled out — MV, Bright.