AM
Tournament time
Richlands (67) Vs. Tazewell (61)
Feb 20, 2014
By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — Same song, third verse.
Down by 18 points a minute before halftime, Tazewell battled back to tie the score with less than three minutes to play before Richlands pulled ahead again and won 67-61 Thursday in the Conference 39 semifinals at Richlands. The Lady Blues (16-5) will take on Grayson County which topped Graham 61-51 in the first game. Both RHS and Grayson will advance to state play next week.
Brittany Allen’s dynamite second quarter combined with Montana Hearl’s late heroics and the steady play of Sarah Compton were the keys to Richlands’ success. The Lady Blues won their third game of the year by a combined total of 13 points over the Lady Bulldogs. It was a tough battle — Tazewell held Richlands to six points in the third period but RHS rebounded with a 25-point effort in the last quarter to grab the victory.
Allen finished with a game-high 26 points to pace Richlands, including four three-pointers.
Kaley Holloway dialed in 10 points and had 16 rebounds for Tazewell.
Full-court pressure to open the game helped the Blues to a quick 6-0 lead as Allen, Hearl, and Compton all scored. At the defensive end, Tazewell’s Autumn Hash kept it closer by her defense with two of her six blocked shots in the first three minutes.
Holloway got the first Bulldog bucket, cutting the margin to 8-2, then Haley Christian and Hash combined for 8-4 run and Whitney Saunders hit a free throw to tie the score at 12-12 before Allen blasted through for successive layups and Richlands led 16-12 after one.
It was a see-saw second quarter on the scoreboard but Allen was a one-woman whirlwind midway through the period and hit four treys in the stanza. Foul trouble plagued Tazewell during that span as both Hash and Saunders took protective turns on the bench.
The Dogs finished with a flurry including Christian’s dramatic trey off the glass at the buzzer as the battling THS ladies cut into the margin again, down by seven at halftime.
Hash concluded, “We played our hearts out. I’m sad to end this way but we gave everything we had against a very good team. I’m proud of my teammates.”
Gracey Cline drained a three to open the third stanza followed by yet another trey from Christian with a pair of Allen freebies sandwiched between. Compton added a bucket and two free throws in the run before Ally Lee fired in a three pointer from the wing and Richlands took a two-point margin into the final stanza, 44-42.
Hearl stepped up just inside the seven minute mark for a three-point play and then Lee popped in another trey to knot the score at 47-all before Hearl hit a bucket and two foul shots.
The final tie, 58-58, came on Saunders lane score with 2:28 left.
Allen and Hearl got two apiece to untie it, Saunders fouled out with 1:16 remaining, and the Blues maintained the advantage. Lee added a trey in the final seconds and Allen finished the scoring with a free throw.
“We talked about in the locker room before the game and we did not want this to be the last time we played this year,” said Allen. “Tazewell has played us tough and we knew we had to be ready. It feels good to be headed to state and also have a chance to play for the conference championship here at home in a couple of days.”
Richlands had a big advantage at the line, hitting 20-of-33 chances while Tazewell made 10-of-17 attempts.
“Both teams played hard,” said Blues coach Dennis Palmer. “Brittany, Montana, and Sarah all stepped up. That’s what we expect them to do. They are veteran starters and they helped us to win a very big game. We got a big lead, lost our focus for a while and Tazewell came right back to tie the game. I’m not surprised. Both teams are talented and our girls were able once again to do what was necessary to win. I am very proud of their effort tonight.”
Hearl scored 17 points for the Lady Blues and Compton netted 9. Laney Rinehart added 8.
Bulldog coach Jason Southworth said, “So close for the third time. It was tough once again to have Whitney (Saunders) and Autumn (Hash) in foul trouble. Richlands has a Division I player and about four good shooters and I know they are very good but we gave them a battle right down to the buzzer. I can’t ask for more than that. Every player gave a 100 percent effort for us in this game. That part was terrific — I just wish we could have held and won it.
Lee led Tazewell with 13 points including three treys, Cline scored 12 and Christian put in 11 points with three three-pointers. Hash got 8 points.

At Richlands Middle School
TAZEWELL (11-11)
Kaley Holloway 10, Gracey Cline 12, Ally Lee 13, Whitney Saunders 7, Haley Christian 11, Autumn Hash 8.
RICHLANDS (16-8)
Montana Hearl 17, Brittany Allen 26, Sarah Compton 9, Laney Rinehart 9, Nadia Ashiq 6, Olivia Harmon 2
At Richlands Middle School
Tazewell....................12 17 15 17 — 61
Richlands...................16 20 6 25 — 67
Three-point goals: T - 7 (Christian 3, Lee 3, Cline 1); R - 6 (Allen 4, Rinehart 2).
Fouled out: T (Saunders).℅
Nightly Roundup
Game Scoreboard
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT SCORE
Richlands 16 20 6 25 0 67
Tazewell 12 17 15 17 0 61
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