Hidden Valley Girls Into Title Game, Bruin and Titan Boys Falter

AP SPORTS
Published: March 13, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Defending champion Hidden Valley, led by
Abby Oliver and Kylee Beecher, efficiently dissected Greensville
County and cruised to a 65-32 victory Thursday in the semifinals of
the VHSL’s Group AA girls’ basketball tournament.
Hidden Valley (25-4) hit 15 of its first 22 shots from the floor
and 28 of 53 for the game in advancing to Saturday’s 7 p.m.
championship game at VCU’s Siegel Center.
Greensville County, playing in the semifinals for the first
time, scored the game’s first four points, then saw Hidden Valley
put on a 19-4 run the rest of the quarter.
It was no contest from then on as the Lady Eagles (25-2) turned
the ball over 15 times in falling behind 35-12 at the half as
Oliver scored 17 of her 22 points.
Beecher scored eight of her 14 points in the second half, but
Hidden Valley reserves were on the floor for about three minutes in
the third quarter and the last five minutes of the game. Abby
Redick added 10 points for the Titans.
Gabby Tyler was almost the whole show for Greensville County.
She scored the Lady Eagles’ first 8 points and finished with 19
points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - DeVonne Lewis hit 13 consecutive free
throws, 11 in the final period, as Brunswick rallied in the second
half for a 55-49 victory over Hidden Valley in the semifinals of
the VHSL’s Group AA boys’ basketball tournament on Thursday.
Lewis, fouled on a three-point attempt with 3:22 left, broke the
final tie by hitting all three free throws to give Brunswick a
46-43 lead. The Bulldogs (25-4) advanced to Saturday night’s
championship game at VCU’s Siegel Center for the second year in a
row.
It also was the second year in a row that Hidden Valley (28-2)
was knocked out in the semifinals by Brunswick and denied the a
chance at a rare double. Hidden Valley’s girls team had earlier
advanced to the finals seeking their second straight title.
Until Lewis scored a basket with 49 seconds gone in the final
period to give Brunswick a 37-35 lead, the Bulldogs had trailed
since early in the first quarter. It proved the Bulldogs’ only
basket of the last eight minutes, but they hit 15 consecutive free
throws before finally missing one.
Lewis, whose free throw accuracy was a tourney one-game record,
finished with 25 points and Antonio Epps added 10 for Brunswick.
Ben Boggs had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Hidden Valley, but
he missed four free throws in a row with the score tied at 43
before Lewis began his game-winning streak.
Luke Hancock added 11 points for the Titans.
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Clayton Rodney and Erick Green combined for
10 points in overtime Thursday night, lifting Millbrook to a 73-67
victory against Blacksburg in the VHSL’s Group AA boys semifinals.
With its 14th consecutive win, Millbrook (28-1) advanced to a
meeting with Brunswick in the state championship game on Saturday
at VCU’s Seigel Center,
Blacksburg (21-9) scored the first nine points of the game and
led until Jordan Sugars’ jumper gave the Pioneers a 43-42 lead with
1:58 left in the third quarter.
No more than five points separated the teams in the fourth
quarter, when Rodney scored 13 of Millbrook’s 14 points to keep the
Pioneers in the game. Daniel Mitchell tied the game at 57 for
Blacksburg, hitting a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds to play.
Millbrook scored the first seven points of the overtime, and
Blacksburg never got closer than four again.
Clayton Rodney led Millbrook with 22 points, hitting 8 of 13
field goals and adding five assists. Green had 19 points, Calvin
Rodney 13 on 6-for-6 shooting and Sugars 11.
Nick English led the Bruins with 19 points, Greg Keys had 16,
Mitchell 14 and Tyler Holmes 11.