By LARRY HYPES
for the Daily Telegraph
TAZEWELL, Va. — It was a hard-fought battle throughout but two soldiers helped win the war for the homestanding Tazewell Lady Bulldogs Thursday.
Autumn Hash and Taylor Catron combined for 37 points to pace Tazewell (3-3) to a 46-37 non-district win over the Graham G-Girls (2-2).
Cold shooting inside for Graham and outside for Tazewell helped hold the score down in the first half as the Lady Dogs earned a 19-15 edge at the break.
Karly Morgan and Liz Workman were the major players during most of the evening for the G-Girls, whose rhythm never achieved the consistency hoped for by Coach Tracy Raban.
Hash, going inside and outside despite a physical defense by GHS, combined with the point guard play of Catron to keep the game in command. Hard-charging Whitney Saunders was another integral part of the contest for Tazewell.
Hash led all scorers with 19 points and had 8 rebounds.
She said, “Graham kept trying to push us outside with their defense and we had to work against that all night. I tried to some inside shots but I’ve been working on my outside shooting and tonight it worked for me.
“It was a physical game but I don’t mind. We just have to play through it.”
Catron, who tallied 18 points, including a pair of three-pointers while never leaving the court as she directed the offense, had a great effort in the win.
“Once we made a few shots, our offense got untracked,” she said. “Graham played some tough defense and after we finally got started we picked up the pace. It was a good game.”
Katie Snapp also sparkled for the Lady Dogs, adding 8 points and 6 rebounds in a consistent effort.
There was a tribute after the game for the late Dr. Charles Grindstaff, a former principal at both Tazewell and Graham, who passed away days ago after coming to the game where he kept the clock and having to leave before the contest ended.
Grindstaff died at a local hospital. Players of both girls and boys team lined up for a memorial salute.
Morgan (12 points) and Workman (10) paced the G-Girls. Candice Lewis and Kaylan Stanley added 4 points each.
Tazewell coach Jason Southworth said, “We missed a lot of inside shots but we got going in the second half. Our girls battled defensively better than we have in the past couple of games and our fast break really got the offense moving. I’m very pleased with that.”
Raban noted, “We have no excuses. We got the shots we wanted. We had some wide open looks and just settled for what they were giving us instead of moving into better position. Rather than go inside where we had some opportunity we just took what they (Tazewell) wanted us to have.”
Graham plays Bluefield tonight while Tazewell hosts Blacksburg in non-district action at Tazewell Middle School.

At Tazewell Middle School
GRAHAM (2-2)
Karly Morgan 12, Erin Wilson 3, Alysia Leung 2, Liz Workman 10, Candice Lewis 4, Kaylan Stanley 4, Ashley Moretto 2. Totals 18 1-8 37.
TAZEWELL (3-3)
Haley Bradshaw, Brienna Sparks, Taylor Catron 18, Katie Snapp 8, Whitney Saunders 1, Autumn Hash 19. Totals 15 3 7-11 46.
Graham................................................8 7 8 14 — 37
Tazewell.............................................12 7 12 15 — 46
Three-point goals – GR 0; TZ 3 (Catron (2), Hash (1). Fouled out –none.