GIRLS 5A Finals: Menchville 59 Woodgrove 36 - FINAL
- Thread starter pizzzzza
- Start date
The Class 5 girls basketball state championship game was more coronation than contest. That’s fitting for a team named the Monarchs.
Dominant from the start, Menchville routed previously unbeaten Woodgrove 59-36 Friday in the tournament final at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center. The state title is a first in basketball for the Monarchs as they joined Heritage’s 2008 Group AAA champs as only girls teams in Newport News public schools history to win state crowns.
“It’s a great feeling,” said junior Amari Smith, a combo guard who led the Monarchs with 17 points and eight rebounds. “We knew we had that in us, but it’s surreal that we did it.”
Smith was joined in double figures by Atiana Williams (13 points) and Jayleen Hallums (13 points). Menchville trailed only briefly, when Lisa Nice opened the game with 3-pointer for the Wolverines (29-1).
The Monarchs scored the next six points and never looked back. Their lead was 17-6 after a quarter, 39-20 at halftime and 55-25 by the end of the third quarter.
“Coming in, we felt if we started good, the rest of the game would come to us,” Williams said. “We started off aggressively and set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Class 5 state championship girls basketball: Menchville vs Woodgrove
Menchville takes on Woodgrove during Friday's Class 5 state championship girls basketball game at Virginia ...
MORE
(Jonathon Gruenke/Daily Press)
Smith (8-of-13 shooting) aside, Menchville wasn’t particularly great offensively, shooting 37.7%, but was brilliant otherwise. Monarchs coach Adrian Webb said the game plan was to close quickly on the Wolverines’ 3-point shooters and apply constant man-to-man defensive pressure.
Following Nice’s first 3-pointer, the Wolverines, who made just 12 of 42 field goals, had little success outside and were just 4 of 16 from behind the arc after three quarters. Menchville’s defensive pressure forced 15 turnovers in those first three quarters, resulting in 20 points.
The Monarchs controlled the paint, outscoring the Wolverines 30-8 there in the first three quarters. They held a commanding 36-25 rebounding edge by that point, including many offensive rebounds, as they built a 13-2 edge in second-chance points.
“We knew we had to attack,” junior center Keylee Harrison said of those close-in points, before adding, “(the rebounding) was all about (good) positioning.”
The buzz in the gym before the game was that Woodgrove would play without 6-foot center Ashley Steadman. Steadman, who has committed to Division III power Christopher Newport, injured her shoulder in a quarterfinal win over Highland Springs last week and was on the bench with her arm in a sling.
But Menchville has played virtually the entire season minus guard Kiara Bell, who made the All-Tidewater team as a freshman in 2020, when she averaged 16.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. Beal, who injured a leg in December, played a few minutes in the Region B semifinal.
Webb has labeled her “game-to-game” since and said he would play her only if needed. She obviously was not needed Friday, but will be part of a talented returning cast next year expected to include Smith, Williams, Harrison, Hailliey Thomas and Taliyah Woodbury.
“We were expecting her back, but the biggest thing for her is we want her to be healthy,” Webb said of Beal. “She has a long basketball career ahead of her and we want to make sure we do the right things for her and put her in the right position.
“We probably could have had her out there, but we felt we could do it without her. We’ve never made the team about any one person and we’ve had different people step up every game.
“Whereas she is one of our better players, and she would’ve made things a lot easier over the course of the year, we still had enough talent to win the (state) championship.”
Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com, 757-247-4963, follow on Twitter @MartyOBrienDP
Dominant from the start, Menchville routed previously unbeaten Woodgrove 59-36 Friday in the tournament final at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center. The state title is a first in basketball for the Monarchs as they joined Heritage’s 2008 Group AAA champs as only girls teams in Newport News public schools history to win state crowns.
“It’s a great feeling,” said junior Amari Smith, a combo guard who led the Monarchs with 17 points and eight rebounds. “We knew we had that in us, but it’s surreal that we did it.”
Smith was joined in double figures by Atiana Williams (13 points) and Jayleen Hallums (13 points). Menchville trailed only briefly, when Lisa Nice opened the game with 3-pointer for the Wolverines (29-1).
The Monarchs scored the next six points and never looked back. Their lead was 17-6 after a quarter, 39-20 at halftime and 55-25 by the end of the third quarter.
“Coming in, we felt if we started good, the rest of the game would come to us,” Williams said. “We started off aggressively and set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Class 5 state championship girls basketball: Menchville vs Woodgrove
Menchville takes on Woodgrove during Friday's Class 5 state championship girls basketball game at Virginia ...
MORE
(Jonathon Gruenke/Daily Press)
Smith (8-of-13 shooting) aside, Menchville wasn’t particularly great offensively, shooting 37.7%, but was brilliant otherwise. Monarchs coach Adrian Webb said the game plan was to close quickly on the Wolverines’ 3-point shooters and apply constant man-to-man defensive pressure.
Following Nice’s first 3-pointer, the Wolverines, who made just 12 of 42 field goals, had little success outside and were just 4 of 16 from behind the arc after three quarters. Menchville’s defensive pressure forced 15 turnovers in those first three quarters, resulting in 20 points.
The Monarchs controlled the paint, outscoring the Wolverines 30-8 there in the first three quarters. They held a commanding 36-25 rebounding edge by that point, including many offensive rebounds, as they built a 13-2 edge in second-chance points.
“We knew we had to attack,” junior center Keylee Harrison said of those close-in points, before adding, “(the rebounding) was all about (good) positioning.”
The buzz in the gym before the game was that Woodgrove would play without 6-foot center Ashley Steadman. Steadman, who has committed to Division III power Christopher Newport, injured her shoulder in a quarterfinal win over Highland Springs last week and was on the bench with her arm in a sling.
But Menchville has played virtually the entire season minus guard Kiara Bell, who made the All-Tidewater team as a freshman in 2020, when she averaged 16.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. Beal, who injured a leg in December, played a few minutes in the Region B semifinal.
Webb has labeled her “game-to-game” since and said he would play her only if needed. She obviously was not needed Friday, but will be part of a talented returning cast next year expected to include Smith, Williams, Harrison, Hailliey Thomas and Taliyah Woodbury.
“We were expecting her back, but the biggest thing for her is we want her to be healthy,” Webb said of Beal. “She has a long basketball career ahead of her and we want to make sure we do the right things for her and put her in the right position.
“We probably could have had her out there, but we felt we could do it without her. We’ve never made the team about any one person and we’ve had different people step up every game.
“Whereas she is one of our better players, and she would’ve made things a lot easier over the course of the year, we still had enough talent to win the (state) championship.”
Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com, 757-247-4963, follow on Twitter @MartyOBrienDP
Similar threads
