By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
TAZEWELL, Va. — It took a flock of Falcons to help erase the goose egg.
Tazewell’s Lady Bulldogs took their first bite out of the Southwest District, posting up behind Taylor Catron’s 28-point effort to beat SWD foe Abingdon 65-41 Tuesday.
Tazewell (7-7, 1-3) wasted little time going downtown en route to the win which also ended a three-game mid-winter skid.
A quick trey by sharp-shooting Catron, followed by three-pointers from Bre Sparks and Haley Christian’s triple from the corner helped propel THS to a solid 16-7 first quarter lead.
Whitney Saunders’ round-the-horn defense kept the Lady Falcons (0-17, 0-4) off balance in the early going while Autumn Hash and Christian worked hard against Abingdon on the baseline.
“I was working a lot on lateral movement in the first half,” noted Saunders, who was tenacious against the opposing offense. “My goal was to push to the baseline, keep them honest and never stop working. It was great to win our first district game. Now we have to get busy and keep this streak going.”
Catron opened the second half the same as she did the first, firing up a 22-foot three-pointer, followed by a side score from Hash as the Lady Dogs quickly doubled up AHS, 34-17. Both sides began liberal substitution in the third stanza with Tazewell maintaining a comfortable margin with a 45-29 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
“I was really working on my shooting in pre-game,” noted Catron. “I didn’t know what we would need (score) to win but I wanted to help get us started. We really needed a district victory. The whole team stepped up. All of us came out of the locker room energized tonight.”
Abingdon’s Taylor Blevins, playing inside against the THS energy, picked up her fourth foul near the end of the third stanza. Abingdon, though, made one more serious run before the game ended.
Blevins, despite the fouls, was the workhorse, scoring a team-high 13 points, followed by Katelyn Stewart’s 8.
Madison Turner sparkled late in the contest as the Lady Falcons began to cut into the Tazewell lead and Kathryn Harrison aided the attack. Abingdon got to within 12, at 48-36, with 5:15 to play before Catron found Hash flying down the lane for a score. Haley Bradshaw added an inside basket and Tazewell again began to pull away, going on a 12-0 sprint to again push the lead to 20 points at 56-36.
“We got rid of the district goose egg,” noted THS coach Jason Southworth. “Our first half offense was excellent and we played much better team defense. I was very pleased with the team’s intensity. Now we can move on with more confidence.”
Hash had another standout game for Tazewell with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Sparks added 6 rebounds, and Saunders3 steals, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Catron also had 3 assists and a pair of steals for the Lady Dogs.
Tazewell hosts Oak Hill at 5:30 Thursday.

At Tazewell Middle School
ABINGDON (0-17, 0-4)
Olivia Ball 2, Thea Piehl 5, Lydia Billips 6, Katie Mullins 2, Emily Greear 3, Katelyn Stewart 8, Taylor Blevins 13. Totals 16 9-17 41.
TAZEWELL (7-7, 1-3)
Whitney Saunders 5, Autumn Hash 16, Bre Sparks 4, Haley Christian 3, Taylor Catron 28, Katie Snapp 3, Haley Bradshaw 6, Tina Ruble 0. Totals 16 5 18-26 65.
Abingdon.............................7 9 13 12 — 41
Tazewell.............................16 13 16 20 — 65
Three-point goals –A, (0). T, 5 (Catron -- 3, Sparks -1, Christian- 1). Fouled out –none.