By ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. - The Lebanon girls raced out of the gate and then held on for a win over Richlands.
When Richlands opened up in a box-and-one defense with a defender on the Pioneers leading scorer Kati Simmons, it left some open looks outside. Kendall Helbert took advantage hitting some early 3’s as Lebanon led 17-9 after the first eight minutes.
“We just gave up too many open shots in the first quarter,” Richlands coach Dennis Palmer said. “We had trouble shooting the ball throughout the game but my girls did play hard. We played pretty good defense after the first, but we gave them some open shots and they knocked them down.”
Helbert hit a 3 with 4:33 to play in the third quarter to put Lebanon up 37-26. The Pioneers didn’t score again until Hannah Cox dropped in a 17-footer with 5:55 left in the game. Lebanon went well over six minutes without scoring.
The Blues didn’t really take advantage until they scored their first three possessions in the fourth quarter cutting the lead to two points. Simmons hit a crucial 3 and Lebanon (16-5, 4-3) began to pull away again.
“We’ve been doing that lately,” Lebanon coach Rex Parker said. “We get a double-figure lead and then let the other team battle all the way back. Then we have to do something to pull it out in the end. It’s kind of the story of our season, we get people on the ropes and then we can’t put them away.”
Helbert finished with a game-high 18 points for the Pioneers.
Richlands (7-12, 4-4) was led by Brittany Allen with 16 points.

at Richlands Middle School
LEBANON (16-5)
Simmons 3 0-0 8, Johnson 1 5-6 7, Arrington 3 1-1 8, Vencill 0 0-0 0, Compton 0 0-0 0, Cox 4 0-0 8, Helbert 6 0-0 18, Helton 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 6-7 49.
RICHLANDS (7-12)
Hearl 0 0-0 0, Davis 3 3-4 9, Richardson 1 3-5 5, Casey 0 0-0 0, Allen 7 2-3 16, Cordill 0 0-0 0, Cole 1 2-2 4, Compton 0 0-0 0, Hess 0 0-0 0, H. Alley 0 0-0 0, R. Alley 2 2-4 6.
Lebanon...............................17 12 8 12 — 49
Richlands...............................9 11 9 11 — 40
3-point goals – Lebanon 9 (Simmons 2, Arrington 1, Helbert 6), Richlands none. Total fouls – Lebanon 15, Richlands 12. Fouled out - none. Technicals – none.