By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
GARDNER — Justice prevailed when it mattered most.
Whittney Justice scored 11 straight points over the final 3:50 of the game, and No. 4 Summers County rallied from an eight-point deficit to defeat No. 7 PikeView 51-49 in what was a playoff atmosphere on Thursday night at PikeView High School.
It was the first of what could be several meetings between two of the top Class AA teams in the state.
“I am sure, that is two real good teams,” Summers County head coach Wayne Ryan said. “It was a real good high school basketball game, the fans got their money’s worth. It was a great atmosphere.”
Summers County (9-1) received 37 of its 51 points from the Justice twins. Whittney finished with 25 points, including 11-for-12 from the free throw line, while Brittney added 12 points, while making 6-6 from the charity stripe. Whitney had three steals, while Brittney contributed seven boards and four assists.
The rest of the Bobcats finished with 14 points, led by Avery Pivont with six. Shelby Smith had eight rebounds, while Abby Taylor added six.
“Some of that is because they are so good in transition, some of that was dictated that we had a lot of other kids in foul trouble too,” Ryan said. “Obviously we would like to be a little more balanced, but we will just take a win.”
PikeView (9-2) actually made more field goals, 19-15, but the Panthers were just 9 for 24 from the free throw line. The Bobcats were 18-of- 21.
“Free throws, that is one thing that really hurt us,” PikeView head coach Karen Miller said. “We were 9 for 24, that makes really a big difference. We will be shooting a lot tomorrow.”
Summers County controlled the game from the start, leading 29-17 at the break, and still led 37-25 with 4:00 left in the third. Suddenly, the Panthers began to rally, outscoring the Bobcats 11-0, pulling within 37-36 going into the final period.
“We started coming back and getting the shots we wanted and then it just turned, but I have got to give credit to the girls,” Miller said. “They fought hard when we were down by 12, they cut the lead and we got the lead, but we just couldn’t keep the lead.”
The run continued into the final period, as the Panthers finished off an 18-0 run, with Summers County missing 15 straight shots at one point to fall behind 43-37.
“Right there in the fourth quarter down the stretch we missed four or five great shots,” Ryan said, “but we overcame that and that is what good teams do.”
Pivont finally stopped the slump with a basket, but Courtney White and Madison May connected on layups to give the Panthers a 47-39 lead with 3:50 left on the clock.
“I was real proud of our kids that when PikeView came back and took a lead — they went up eight — our kids never let up, never quit, never doubted themselves,” Ryan said. “I appreciate that and the character of our kids.”
May, who led the Panthers with 20 points and eight rebounds, played through the difficulty of having attended the funeral of her grandfather earlier in the day.
“The family was here, it was her dad’s father,” Miller said. “Madison’s grandfather would come to the games when he could, he loved the girls.
“I just told the girls the other night, he will still be watching you, he will be watching in Heaven and he expects them to do good.”
They did, getting its biggest lead of the game, but the suddenly turnover-prone Panthers got just two May free throws the rest of the way, which gave PikeView a short-lived 49-48 lead with 1:50 on the clock.
Meanwhile, Whittney Justice canned a 3, made six straight free throws, and later hit a driving layup with 13.4 seconds left in the game for the 50-49 lead.
“She is a great player and we expect her to make big plays at big times,”Ryan said. “That is what good players do.”
White missed a short jumper on PikeView’s next possession, and Hannah Taylor was fouled with 5.1 seconds left. She made one free throw to pull the Bobcats up by 2.
PikeView hustled downcourt, but Lyndsay Hatfield’s shot attempt was deflected by Abby Taylor as the final buzzer sounded.
“That is two really good teams going at each other, the second half once they came back it became a game of runs,” said Ryan, whose Bobcats will host Scott on Saturday. “We made the last play and that is the one that matters when the clock expires and we are happy to get out of here with a victory.
“It is a good team and a tough place to win.”
PikeView also received nine points, five rebounds and two steals from Lyndsay Hatfield, nine points and 12 boards from White and six points and five steals by Lauryn Hatfield. The Panthers will play Grundy at River View in a Martin Luther King holiday tournament on Monday.
“We felt real good, we got down, but then we came back and got the lead,” Miller said. “This game was about runs, Summers had runs and we got them. We got that lead and we just couldn’t keep it.”
bwoodson@bdtonline.com
/ Twitter @bdtwoodson

at PikeView High School
SUMMERS COUNTY (9-1)
Whittney Justice 6 11-12 25, Brittney Justice 3 6-6 12, Shelby Smith 0 0-0 0, Abby Taylor 1 0-0 2, Avery Pivont 3 0-1 6, Audrey Holley 2 0-0 5, Hannah Taylor 0 1-2 1, Nayla Bond 0 0-0 0, Morgan Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 18-21 51.
PIKEVIEW (9-2)
Madison May 7 6-11 20, Brennah Davis 0 0-0 0, Lauryn Hatfield 2 1-3 6, Lyndsay Hatfield 4 1-2 9, Courtney White 4 1-8 9, Brittany Moore 1 0-0 2, Katelyn Shrewsbury 1 0-0 3, Brianna Shrewsbury 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Odle 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 9-24 49.
Summers County........16 13 8 14 — 51
PikeView................11 7 18 13 — 49
3-point goals: SC 3 (W.Justice 2, Holley 1); PV 2 (Lau.Hatfield 1, K.Shrewsbury 1). Total fouls: SC 17; PV 18. Fouled out: none. JV—SC won.