By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BRADSHAW — Sometimes a general has to rally the troops. In the championship game of the second Little General Tournament on Friday night, Wyoming East coach Angie Boninsegna was able to do that on the enemy's field of battle, and the Warriors defeated the Raiders of River View 32-26.
The Warriors won only four games last season but are now 3-0, and have done it by sharing the ball and adjusting to the opponent's game plan.
Boninsegna said, "Each game, somebody else has stepped up for us ... scoring or defensive rebounds."
With a trademark aggressive attack, the Warriors took a 12-4 lead after the first quarter, but went cold for 4:28 in the first half, allowing River View's Samantha Matney to score the final seven points of the half and cut the Wyoming East margin to one, 16-15 at intermission.
Boninsegna said, "We came off the bat hot. We controlled the boards. Then River View picked up their game and we hit a little lull that evened things out."
A key was the presence of point guard Becky Coleman for the Raiders, who's been bothered by knee problems. When she was put into the game, it allowed Matney to get the ball to go, beginning with a three-pointer from the right side with 3:52 left in the second.
The only other three-pointer that connected was also by Matney, who used it to tie the game for the first time 18-18 three minutes into the second half. A few minutes later, she drove the lane, made a bucket and was fouled, converting the free throw for River View's first lead at 21-10.
Twice in the third period, the Raiders led by three, but turnovers began to catch up with the home team. River View had one point in the final period, while the Warriors pulled ahead with 10 points. The Raiders had 17 second-half turnovers.
The Warriors made four of six foul shots in the middle of the fourth quarter to retake the lead. They were 6-for-22 from the foul line in the game.
Boninsegna said, "We played a really solid second half [and] tried to pick up our defensive intensity."
Chelsea Duncan had two points at halftime but finished with 10 points to tie Ally Hatfield for scoring honors for Wyoming East.
"I knew we had to step up our game," Duncan said. "We deserved [the win]. We've worked so hard."
River View coach Gehrig Justice said about Wyoming East, "They're really aggressive. We told [the Raiders], just fasten your face. ... They didn't adapt to the speed of the Wyoming East game."
"We missed a ton of easy shots," he said.
He noted that except for Chelsea Dobbs and Matney, "the rest are all new. There are growing pains."
"Top to bottom, we've got more talent than ever," Justice said, "but we're young. ... Each day we're going to get a little better."
Matney scored 16 points to lead River View, and Dobbs had nine.
Boninsegna said that building on the 3-0 start will take realizing their full potential. "We're still learning how to play with each other," she said. "We've just got to keep working hard."
Duncan said, "We're a little team, we don't have a lot of height. But we've got heart."
The all-tournament team included Duncan and Ally Hatfield of Wyoming East; Matney and Tara Bowles of River View; Richelle Stacy and Shanice Justus of Hurley; and Stevie White and Destiny Lovejoy of Van.
— Contact Tom Bone at tbone@bdtonline.com

At River View High School
WYOMING EAST (3-0)
Megan Cook 1 0-0 2, Ally Hatfield 5 0-3 10, Hope McNeely 3 0-2 6, Chelsea Duncan 2 6-15 10, Holly Pettus 0 0-0 0, Laura Sizemore 0 0-0 0, Chiara Jewell 1 0-2 2, Brianne Pertee 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 6-22 32.
RIVER VIEW (1-1)
Chelsey Dobbs 4 1-3 9, Akasa Benton 0 0-0 0, Kiresten Dority 1 0-0 2, Samantha Matney 6 1-1 16. Totals 11 2-5 26.
Wyoming East.................12 4 6 10 — 32
River View........................4 11 10 1 — 26
3-point goals: WE none; RV 2 (Matney 2).