Girls BB: Wise Central 53 Abingdon 46 - FINAL
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Lady Warriors deny Falcons, rule Mountain 7
BY KEVIN MAYS, KMAYS@TIMESNEWS.NET • TODAY AT 10:26 PM
WISE — No matter how slow Wise Central starts a basketball game, it’s going to be in it in the end.
Friday night was no different for the Lady Warriors as they overcame a sluggish start to take a 53-46 win over Abingdon that gave the defending Class 2 state champions the Mountain 7 District regular-season championship.
CHAMPIONS
As the top seed in the district tournament, Wise Central (21-1, 9-1) will host the Mountain 7 semifinals and championship on Wednesday and Friday.
“It’s nice to have the tournament here. You don’t have to travel, but the No. 1 seed to the region is the big thing,” said Wise Central coach Robin Dotson.
NO PANIC
Abingdon (18-4, 9-3) held a slim lead, 9-7, after the first quarter before opening the second with a 9-2 run to jump ahead 18-9 in the first three minutes of the quarter.
True to form, Central battled back and outscored the Lady Falcons 11-5 over the remainder of the quarter to pull to within 23-20 by halftime.
“Sometimes we’ve got to get smacked in the mouth before we start playing,” Dotson said. “What I love about this team is they never believe they’re beat. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, they’re going to play to win. And they’re going to make some plays and compete all the way to the end.
“We made some plays at the end. The biggest thing was the last minute and a half, we rebounded every missed (Abingdon) shot instead of giving up second-chance shots.”
The teams battled evenly throughout the third quarter and carried the close play over into the fourth before Central used a 9-0 run to build a 47-38 advantage with 4:30 to play. The biggest lead of the game for the Lady Warriors came courtesy of a 3-point shot from Gracie Mullins.
Mullins and Brook Porter had 12 points apiece for the Lady Warriors. Dee Cvetnich added 12 points and 14 rebounds.
“We knew it meant a lot and they always play hard and have some pretty good players, but we knew we could do it,” Porter said.
FOR THE FALCONS
Back-to-back 3-point shots from Abingdon’s Grace Hess cut the Central lead to 47-46 with 2:30 left in the game. But that was as close as the Lady Falcons could get.
Payton Carter led Abingdon’s scorers with 20 points, Hess finished with 11 and Taylor Gilbert added 10.
BY KEVIN MAYS, KMAYS@TIMESNEWS.NET • TODAY AT 10:26 PM
WISE — No matter how slow Wise Central starts a basketball game, it’s going to be in it in the end.
Friday night was no different for the Lady Warriors as they overcame a sluggish start to take a 53-46 win over Abingdon that gave the defending Class 2 state champions the Mountain 7 District regular-season championship.
CHAMPIONS
As the top seed in the district tournament, Wise Central (21-1, 9-1) will host the Mountain 7 semifinals and championship on Wednesday and Friday.
“It’s nice to have the tournament here. You don’t have to travel, but the No. 1 seed to the region is the big thing,” said Wise Central coach Robin Dotson.
NO PANIC
Abingdon (18-4, 9-3) held a slim lead, 9-7, after the first quarter before opening the second with a 9-2 run to jump ahead 18-9 in the first three minutes of the quarter.
True to form, Central battled back and outscored the Lady Falcons 11-5 over the remainder of the quarter to pull to within 23-20 by halftime.
“Sometimes we’ve got to get smacked in the mouth before we start playing,” Dotson said. “What I love about this team is they never believe they’re beat. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, they’re going to play to win. And they’re going to make some plays and compete all the way to the end.
“We made some plays at the end. The biggest thing was the last minute and a half, we rebounded every missed (Abingdon) shot instead of giving up second-chance shots.”
The teams battled evenly throughout the third quarter and carried the close play over into the fourth before Central used a 9-0 run to build a 47-38 advantage with 4:30 to play. The biggest lead of the game for the Lady Warriors came courtesy of a 3-point shot from Gracie Mullins.
Mullins and Brook Porter had 12 points apiece for the Lady Warriors. Dee Cvetnich added 12 points and 14 rebounds.
“We knew it meant a lot and they always play hard and have some pretty good players, but we knew we could do it,” Porter said.
FOR THE FALCONS
Back-to-back 3-point shots from Abingdon’s Grace Hess cut the Central lead to 47-46 with 2:30 left in the game. But that was as close as the Lady Falcons could get.
Payton Carter led Abingdon’s scorers with 20 points, Hess finished with 11 and Taylor Gilbert added 10.
Wise County Central girls rally past Abingdon to claim Mountain 7 title
WISE, Va. – Wise County Central Warriors girls basketball coach Robin Dotson wasn’t about to panic when his team fell behind the Abingdon Falcons on Friday.
“Sometimes we have to get smacked in the mouth before we start playing,” Dotson said. “The thing I love about this team is that the players never believe they are beaten - no matter the situation.”
After trailing by nine points in the first half, the Warriors rallied for a 53-46 win over the Falcons.
With the victory, Central (21-1, 11-1) clinched the Mountain 7 District regular-season title and will host the final two rounds of the district tournament next week.
Abingdon, which was hoping to force a playoff game with a win over Central, opened an 18-9 advantage at the 4:46 mark of the second quarter behind the speed and creativity of sophomore guard Peyton Carter.
The Falcons (18-4, 9-3) created most of that margin with Air Force Academy recruit Grace Hess on the bench with foul trouble.
Dotson signaled for a timeout at that point and Central chopped its deficit to 21-19 by the 38-second mark of the first half.
Then Dotson repeated his mantra at halftime.
“We always preach defense,” Central guard Brook Porter said. “Even if the shots aren’t falling, we always play defense.”
With a formula of defensive stops, rebounding and perimeter jumpers, Central crafted a 34-29 lead when Brittany Mullins canned a 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter.
Thanks to the shooting of Hess and the hustle of senior forward Taylor Gilbert, Abingdon erased a 47-38 deficit and trailed just 47-46 with 2:25 left in the game. That’s when Central put down the defensive clamps.
“This game is about making shots,” AHS coach Jimmy Brown said. “We got the looks we felt like we wanted in the second half and they just didn’t go down.
“Central hangs its hat on defense. They do a good job of protecting the rim and making you hit jumpers. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”
Carter led the Falcons with 20 points while Hess (11) and Gilbert (10) also reached double figures. Carter missed all of last season with a knee injury.
“We’re getting [Carter] up to full speed this season and hopefully she will continue to play well in the playoffs,” Brown said.
The leaders for Central included Gracie Mullins (12 points), Porter (12 points) and 6-2 post Dee Cvetnich with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Porter and Gracie Mullins each hit a pair of key 3-pointers in clutch time while Central controlled the board over the last 90 seconds as AHS misfired on jumpers.
Cvetnich offered insight into the Central transformation.
“That wasn’t us in the first half,” she said. “We had to battle back and play like we know how. In the second half, we were able to play our game. We hit some outside shots and that opened up our offense.”
Central has a tradition for sticky defense, but the Warriors accomplished their mission Friday with a zone.
“We’ve played a lot of zone this season, and a big reason for that is we’re down to seven players now,” Dotson said. “This is not the best defensive team I’ve ever coached, but we’re getting better and I like that.”
Brown kept Central off-balance with a variety of defensive looks, but the AHS offense went cold in the final minutes.
“For the most part, I thought we played well on defense,” Brown said. “Central had some kids step up in the second half and hit some big threes.”
According to Porter, an extra boost of intensity was key for the Warriors.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Porter said. “We played with emotion in the second half.”
AHS and Central both collected 30 rebounds and six 3-pointers while Central was able to force 18 turnovers.
“This team is going to make some plays and compete until the end. That’s what we like to see,” Dotson said.
The Mountain 7 tournament opens Monday with games at satellite sites. After district play, AHS moves to the Class 3 level for regional competition in two weeks.
WISE, Va. – Wise County Central Warriors girls basketball coach Robin Dotson wasn’t about to panic when his team fell behind the Abingdon Falcons on Friday.
“Sometimes we have to get smacked in the mouth before we start playing,” Dotson said. “The thing I love about this team is that the players never believe they are beaten - no matter the situation.”
After trailing by nine points in the first half, the Warriors rallied for a 53-46 win over the Falcons.
With the victory, Central (21-1, 11-1) clinched the Mountain 7 District regular-season title and will host the final two rounds of the district tournament next week.
Abingdon, which was hoping to force a playoff game with a win over Central, opened an 18-9 advantage at the 4:46 mark of the second quarter behind the speed and creativity of sophomore guard Peyton Carter.
The Falcons (18-4, 9-3) created most of that margin with Air Force Academy recruit Grace Hess on the bench with foul trouble.
Dotson signaled for a timeout at that point and Central chopped its deficit to 21-19 by the 38-second mark of the first half.
Then Dotson repeated his mantra at halftime.
“We always preach defense,” Central guard Brook Porter said. “Even if the shots aren’t falling, we always play defense.”
With a formula of defensive stops, rebounding and perimeter jumpers, Central crafted a 34-29 lead when Brittany Mullins canned a 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter.
Thanks to the shooting of Hess and the hustle of senior forward Taylor Gilbert, Abingdon erased a 47-38 deficit and trailed just 47-46 with 2:25 left in the game. That’s when Central put down the defensive clamps.
“This game is about making shots,” AHS coach Jimmy Brown said. “We got the looks we felt like we wanted in the second half and they just didn’t go down.
“Central hangs its hat on defense. They do a good job of protecting the rim and making you hit jumpers. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”
Carter led the Falcons with 20 points while Hess (11) and Gilbert (10) also reached double figures. Carter missed all of last season with a knee injury.
“We’re getting [Carter] up to full speed this season and hopefully she will continue to play well in the playoffs,” Brown said.
The leaders for Central included Gracie Mullins (12 points), Porter (12 points) and 6-2 post Dee Cvetnich with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Porter and Gracie Mullins each hit a pair of key 3-pointers in clutch time while Central controlled the board over the last 90 seconds as AHS misfired on jumpers.
Cvetnich offered insight into the Central transformation.
“That wasn’t us in the first half,” she said. “We had to battle back and play like we know how. In the second half, we were able to play our game. We hit some outside shots and that opened up our offense.”
Central has a tradition for sticky defense, but the Warriors accomplished their mission Friday with a zone.
“We’ve played a lot of zone this season, and a big reason for that is we’re down to seven players now,” Dotson said. “This is not the best defensive team I’ve ever coached, but we’re getting better and I like that.”
Brown kept Central off-balance with a variety of defensive looks, but the AHS offense went cold in the final minutes.
“For the most part, I thought we played well on defense,” Brown said. “Central had some kids step up in the second half and hit some big threes.”
According to Porter, an extra boost of intensity was key for the Warriors.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Porter said. “We played with emotion in the second half.”
AHS and Central both collected 30 rebounds and six 3-pointers while Central was able to force 18 turnovers.
“This team is going to make some plays and compete until the end. That’s what we like to see,” Dotson said.
The Mountain 7 tournament opens Monday with games at satellite sites. After district play, AHS moves to the Class 3 level for regional competition in two weeks.
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