AM
Tazewell at Richlands
Tazewell (41) Vs. Richlands (51)
Jan 31, 2012
By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — Alpha finally led to Omega.
Brittany Allen poured in 13 of Richlands first 15 points in the opening six minutes and that whirlwind start enabled the Lady Blue Tornado (12-5, 5-2) to hold on for a hard-fought 52-41 Southwest District victory over the battling Tazewell Lady Bulldogs Tuesday.
Allen dropped five quick points on Tazewell, aided by Cassie Richardon’s solid play at both end of the court as the Blues claimed their second Southwest District victory over Tazewell (9-10, 2-5) in three weeks.
After falling behind by 22 points midway through the second quarter, Tazewell slowly but steadily fought back, outscoring the Lady Blues 21-12 in the third stanza and pulling to within 6 points, at 41-35, when Autumn Hash scored on a put-back with 5:40 to play. Richardson and Rachel Alley, however, steadied the Blue ship which sailed safely through the last few minutes and grabbed the win.
Richlands was relentless in the first six minutes, opening up 17-1 lead, with the only Tazewell point a free throw by Whitney Saunders. Taylor Catron finally hit the first Bulldog bucket with :10 left in the opening period.
“We didn’t seem to be prepared at the beginning. It was really hard to come back in the second half after being down so much. We just came in at halftime and said as a team ‘we have to pick it up if we are going to get a good spot in the district tournament. We have to be ready to play at Abingdon and get off to a better start. We can still do it,” noted Catron.
Saunders, who played baseline-to-baseline defense for Tazewell most of the game, led the Lady Dogs back into contention aided by Hash’s solid inside play, along with hard-working Katie Snapp.
Richardson, however, was also a defensive force for the Blues and directed the Tornado attack especially effectively in the opening and closing quarters.
“I tried to find the open player,” noted Richardson, who finished with 16 points, 6 steals, and 7 assists for Richlands. “Brittany was hot early but everyone played hard and my teammates all clicked tonight when they needed to.”
Saunders also hit a pair of treys and finished as the leading Tazewell scorer with 14 points, followed by Hash and Catron with 9 each. Saunders also picked up four steals for the Lady Bulldogs.
Allen led all scorers with 23.
“My shot was ‘on’ early, so I wanted to get us out front,” the sharp-shooting sophomore said. “In the second half, our defense did the job at the end and we were able to come away with the win. We were excited to play Tazewell so this was a big victory.”
“Against a good ball club like Richlands, you can’t give them 22 points,” said Tazewell coach Jason Southworth.
“In the first half, they (Richlands) probably beat us in every basketball category. In the second half, we started executing and we were finally playing our kind of defense. We have to execute better against Abingdon. If we do that and play the defense we are capable of, we can play with anybody in the district.”
Richlands coach Dennis Palmer was pleased with the win after a strong start by his team.
“We came out with a lot of early intensity,” he said. “Brittany really played up to her capability early and Cassie (Richardson) is our quarterback who directs the offense and always plays defense, too.
“Don’t forget that Jordyn Cole had a really solid game for us. Rachel (Alley) was strong inside and when she got in foul trouble, Kelli (Hess) stepped up and did a great job in the second half. It takes everybody to win a game.”
Richlands travels to Honaker tonight for a non-district contest while the Lady Dogs play at district foe Abingdon Friday.



At Richlands Middle School
TAZEWELL (9-10, 2-5)
Haley Bradshaw 0 0-0 0, Brienna Sparks 2 0-0 4, Taylor Catron 4 0-0 9, Katie Snapp 0 2-7 2, Whitney Saunders 3 6-8 14, Haley Christian 1 0-0 3, Autumn Hash 4 1-3 9. Totals 14 9-18 41.
RICHLANDS (11-6, 5-2)
Montana Hearl 0 0-0 0, Mackenley Davis 1 1-2 4, Cassie Richardson 7 2-2 16, Brittany Allen 7 7-9 23, Jordyn Cole 0 0-0 0, Kelli Hess 1 1-4 3, Rachel Alley 3 0-0 6. Totals 16 11-17 52.
Tazewell............................................3 6 21 11 — 41
Richlands.........................................17 11 12 12 — 52
Three-point goals – R, 3 (Allen 2, Davis). T, 4 (Saunders 2, Catron, Christian). Fouled out: T, Catron.
Nightly Roundup
Game Scoreboard
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT SCORE
Tazewell 3 6 21 11 0 41
Richlands 16 11 12 12 0 51
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