By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — It was a sweetheart of a night for Richlands, which was anything but blue by game’s end, while Tazewell finished with broken heart on Valentine’s Day.
Brittany Allen scored 23 points and helped Richlands maintain a double-digit lead for much of the game as the Lady Blue Tornado beat cold-shooting Tazewell 47-37 Tuesday in Southwest District tournament opening round action.
The Blues (15-8) next play Thursday at 7:45 p.m. in Hillsville for the SWD title against the Carroll-Abingdon winner. Tazewell (11-10) will play the loser at 5:45.
Richlands will begin Region IV play next week at home in the opening round. Tazewell will also likely play in the regionals beginning next week depending upon tournament results.
“We played hard tonight, even though it seemed like we were in foul trouble a lot of the evening,” noted Blues coach Dennis Palmer. “I was proud of the team effort. Brittany got us going early along with Cassie (Richardson) and Mackenley (Davis). Our inside play made the difference in the second half. That defense carried us when we had to have it.”
Allen dropped in a reverse lay-up off the opening tip for the Lady Blues, and Mackenley Davis raced inside for consecutive baskets to push Richlands up 6-0 with 6:19 remaining in the first quarter.
Whitney Saunders’ free throw at the 5:26 mark of the opening stanza, followed by Taylor Catron’s technical foul shot were the only Bulldog points through the first eight minutes as Richlands opened a 13-2 advantage.
“It was tough tonight,” noted Lady Dog coach Jason Southworth. “We had trouble getting started. We made some adjustments later and got close. Playing catch up against a good team is not easy but we gave a good effort. I hope we make it to the regionals. That will be a new season, a fresh start, and we’ll try to have a good tournament game Thursday and see what happens.”
After the early Blue surge, Taylor Catron keyed a Tazewell run in the second quarter as she drilled a trey and then found Whitney Davis open for another bucket. Tazewell got to within 8 points just before halftime.
A big reason the Lady Dogs were able to get closer was Essence Brown’s quality effort. Brown, a freshman, scored her first varsity points in impressive fashion. She finished as the leading scorer for Tazewell (10 points) and pulled in 5 rebounds, finding a good spot near the top of the lane for her jumper.
“I was sure if I tried to go inside against their (Richlands) defense, they would collapse on me so I just got a spot to shoot from an easier place,” she said. “Defensively, I was just trying to play my position, get in place like Coach (Southworth) told me, and do my job,” said Brown.
Tazewell cut the margin to five points, at 31-26, on a Brown jumper before Allen dropped in a one-handed trey from the top of the key with :40 left in the third period as Richlands again methodically moved forward to meet every Bulldog challenge.
Inside, Jordan Cole and Rachel Allen were the hard workers keeping the Blues in good position.
“I just want to do anything I can to help,” said Cole. “I rebound, whatever it takes to help my teammates. It feels good to win and keep up our momentum.”
Allen, who sang the National Anthem, kept up her efforts on the court following, as she said, “I’m in the choir and since I’m here, I volunteer to sing. I enjoy it. Defensively, I was trying help shut down a couple of Tazewell’s best players to give us a better chance. Whatever I can do, I try to make a difference to make us better.”
In the closing minutes, the Lady Blues slowed things down and Tazewell was not able to make a late charge. Richardson and Allen hit some key freebies down the stretch. Allen got inside for an easy bucket in the closing minutes and it was a score by Montana Hearl that proved to be the winning Catron scored 9 points despite facing pressure, often double teams, all game long and had 3 steals. Saunders had a strong defensive effort and also put in 9 for Tazewell with a pair of assists and a blocked shot.
Richardson added 8 for the Blues.

At Richlands Middle School
TAZEWELL (10-11)
Haley Bradshaw 1 0-0 1, Brienna Sparks 2 0-1 4, Taylor Catron 2 4-6 9, Essence Brown 5 0-2 10, Whitney Saunders 3 3-6 9, Kim Ruble 0 0-0 0, Haley Christian 0 1-4 1, Autumn Hash 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 8-19 37.
RICHLANDS (15-8)
Montana Hearl 1 0-0 2, Mackenley Davis 3 0-0 7, Cassie Richardson 2 3-5 8, Jordyn Cole 0 0-2 0, Kelli Hess 2 0-2 4, Rachel Alley 1 0-2 2, Brittany Allen 9 4-4 23. Totals 18 8-17 47.
Tazewell.................................2 12 13 11 — 37
Richlands.............................13 9 14 10 — 47
Three-point goals: R, 3 (Davis, Richardson, Allen); T, 1 (Catron). Fouled out – none.