Bland Girls, Galax Boys Bow Out in State Semifinals

AP Sports
Published: March 12, 2008

  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Trent Porter scored four of Surry County’s
first 10 unanswered points and the Cougars never looked back,
beating Galax 68-50 in the semifinals of the Virginia High School
League’s Group A-1 boys’ basketball tournament Wednesday.
    The Cougars, who won the state title three years ago when there
was just one division, will take on Nelson County in Saturday’s 1
p.m. championship game at VCU’s Siegel Center.
    Porter had eight points and John Newman seven to lead the
Cougars in the first half, but reserves played much of the second
quarter as Surry County raced to a 37-21 halftime lead.
    Galax scored the first six points of the second half to come
within 10 points, but the Cougars came back to push the lead to
41-27 and the Maroon Tide never got its deficit under double
figures.
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  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Eboney Joyner and Keshara Bradley keyed an
11-0 third-quarter run that broke open a close game and Franklin
beat Bland County 72-42 in Wednesday’s semifinals of the Virginia
High School League’s Group A-1 girls’ basketball tournament.
    Franklin (28-1) will play Buffalo Gap for the first Division 1
championship at 11 a. m. Saturday at VCU’s Siegel Center. The Lady
Broncos were the state’s second-ranked Group A girls’ team in the
final Associated Press poll.
    Bland County, the only team in the tournament with a losing
record at 13-15, trailed by only 32-28 with 2:56 left in the third
period. Then Joyner scored twice off steals and Bradley hit a
three-point basket to extend the Franklin lead to 43-28.
    Franklin turned turnovers into easy baskets in the fourth
quarter and extended its lead at the foul line, hitting 10 of 16
free throws. The Lady Bears turned the ball over 30 times.
    Kierra Lee led Franklin with 23 points, Holeman scored 16, and
each grabbed 11 rebounds.
    Bland County was led by Laurel Hankins with 19 points.