BY ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
RICHMOND, Va. — The opportunity was there for the Lady Tigers, but it wasn’t to be.
A 12-game Honaker winning streak ended with a 60-34 loss to Chilhowie in the 1A state championship game at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers have created havoc with their defense all year, but were unable to cause many problems for the Warriors. Chilhowie made 50 percent of their shots in the first half and improved to 60 percent after the break. They only had 13 turnovers in the game and Honaker had just five steals.
“We shot poorly,” Honaker coach Misty Miller said. “Defensively we allowed a lot of dribble penetration to the basket. We just came up short the entire game.”
While Chilhowie shot extremely well, Honaker struggled. The Tigers made only 4-of-26 shots in the first half and ended the game 10-of-50, only shooting 20 percent. It was a recipe for disaster.
Honaker had defeated Chilhowie in the 1A West regional game by 10 points and had shutdown Kenzie Sabo in that contest. Sabo was a huge factor in the title game. Sabo was 10-of-12 from the floor, scoring a game-high 20 points and had nine rebounds, with four coming on the offensive end.
“Sabo was a beast inside,” Chilhowie coach Mark Halsey said. “She had blocks, steals and when she got the ball she went up strong and scored. Sabo has really worked hard the past week in practice.”
Honaker could never get any consistent offense going. Both teams struggled the first eight minutes and the Warriors had a slim 8-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Madison Musick hit a jumper and Laken Robinette made 1-of-2 foul shots as the Tigers tied it at 8-all early in the second quarter. But Chilhowie ended the first half on a 19-3 run and held a 27-12 advantage at halftime.
“I think we just settled down,” said Halsey. “I think both teams had a lot of nerves they had to work out early. We had some key stops defensively and that was a big part of it. We kind of carried that on in the second half.”
If there was any doubt about the outcome it ended quickly in the third quarter. Chilhowie made their first seven shots, as their lead quickly went to 20-plus points.
The Warriors also did an outstanding job of slowing Honaker’s inside game. Limiting the Tigers points in the paint and they struggled from the perimeter. Chilhowie outscored Honaker in every frame.
“We controlled the inside with Robinette and (Megan) Meade, because they are definitely strong players,” Halsey said. “We did a good job of doubling down on them, and we tried to contest the guards on the perimeter. They didn’t get very many comfortable looks.”
Chilhowie’s 2,000 plus point scorer Danielle Catron also had a big day with 18 points. Ckareekeea Branch distributed the ball with seven assists.
Musick and Robinette each scored 10 points for Honaker. Robinette grabbed six rebounds and Musick had five.
Leah Elswick was the only senior on the roster for Honaker. They return all five starters, including eight lettermen and should be strong contenders next season.
“I feel we had a great season,” Miller said. “This is a tremendous group of young ladies, they put their heart on the line every game. No one likes to lose the big game, but I’m proud of what these girls have accomplished.”

at VCU’s Siegel Center
HONAKER (24-7)
Deel 0-8 0-0 0, Ray 1-4 0-0 2, Shelton 0-2 2-2 2, Miller 2-8 0-0 5, Robinette 3-11 4-6 10, Musick 2-8 6-6 10, Elswick 1-7 0-0 3, VanDyke 0-0 0-0 0, Meade 1-2 0-0 0. Totals 10-50 12-14 34.
CHILHOWIE (26-2)
Branch 3-8 0-0 6, Tilson 3-3 0-0 9, Hurley 2-5 2-2 6, Catron 7-15 4-4 18, Sabo 10-12 0-2 20, Billings 0-0 0-0 0, Luttrell 0-1 0-0 0, Richards 0-0 0-0 0, Smarr 0-1 1-2 1, Kestner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-45 7-10 60.
Honaker..............................5 7 12 10 — 34
Chilhowie............................8 19 21 12 — 60
3-point goals—Honaker 2 (Miller 1, Elswick 1), Chilhowie 3 (Tilson 3). Rebounds—Honaker 27, Chilhowie 35. Assists—Honaker 3, Chilhowie 11. Total Fouls—Honaker 13, Chilhowie 12. Fouled out - none. Technicals—none.