By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph


TAZEWELL, Va. — Sarah, good and tall.

Sarah Compton poured in 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds before leaving early in the fourth quarter when standout Brittany Allen made six crucial points in the final minute to propel Richlands (15-4) to a heart-stopping 71-69 win over the Tazewell Lady Bulldogs Thursday.

Haley Christian scored a game-high 22 points including four treys in a valiant effort for Tazewell (10-9) which lost its second close contest of the year to the Lady Blues.

Olivia Harmon and Laney Rinehart sparked the early surge for RHS, which bolted to an 18-6 first quarter lead.

Tazewell battled back in the second half, outscoring Richlands by 8 in the third stanza. Christian s baseline three-point bucket finally tied the score at 61-all with 1:48 to play before Allen banked a one-hander off the glass at the other end to give Richlands the lead for good.

Gracie Cline drilled a half-court shot at the buzzer for Tazewell to make the final score a two-point decision.

Montana Hearl did a good job directing traffic for Richlands in the second half, as both Compton and Allen spent time on the bench with foul problems. Hearl finished with 13 points.

Allen added 14 and Harmon 12 for the Lady Blues.

“This was a great game,” said Richlands coach Dennis Palmer. “The crowd got so loud tonight and that’s the way I like it. Sarah had maybe her best game of the season, Montana did a good job for us, and Brittany came through in the clutch. We got a big win here tonight.”

Whitney Saunders added 11 points for Tazewell and Cline, who finished 5-for-5 at the free throw line, popped in a pair of treys.

“This is twice in a row we have had an unusual finish,” said a disappointed THS coach Jason Southworth, “And we have come out on the losing end both times. But I am proud of my team, love these seniors and we look forward to a lot more basketball at tournament time.”

In a foul-filled exhibition, Richlands hit 25-of-35 free throws and Tazewell dropped in 24-of-35 foul shots.

Tazewell plays at Abingdon Tuesday and Richlands travels to Elizabethon tonight.



At Tazewell Middle School

Richlands (15-4)

Montana Hearl 13, Laney Rinehart 9, Brittany Allen 14, Lauren Sword 2, Olivia Harmon 12, Sarah Compton 17, Nadia Ashiq 4

Tazewell (10-9)

Autumn Hash 7, Whitney Saunders 11, Kaley Holloway 9, Haley Christian 22, Ally Lee 7, Gracey Cline 13

Richlands........................18 18 15 20 — 71

Tazewell............................6 15 23 25 — 69

Three-point goals, R-3, (Rinehart -3, Harmon -1). T, 7 (Christian -4, Cline -2, Lee-1).

Fouled out: R (Compton), T (Saunders).