GIRLS:
757TEAMZ BASKETBALL
Top seeds Menchville, Norview use defense to coast into Class 5 Region B girls basketball final
By Jim McGrath
NORFOLK — Menchville and Norview will contend for the Class 5 Region B girls basketball title on Tuesday as the two top-seeded teams won their semifinal games Friday at Scope.
The Monarchs scored the game’s first 14 points and faced no serious challenge from Bethel in a 69-33 victory in the opening contest.
Atiana Williams, Keylee Harrison and Kiara Beal paced Menchville (22-1) with 15 points each.
As the Monarchs look to defend last year’s Class 5 state championship, head coach Adrian Webb will be relying on players other than leading scorer Amari Smith (20 points a game) to contribute significantly.
In the other semifinal, Norview also relied on its defense to force the Wolverines into numerous turnovers and poor shot selections while running out to a 26-7 lead and cruising to a 52-24 victory.
Like Menchville, the Pilots are also guaranteed a berth in the Class 5 state tournament.
After scoring the game’s first seven points, the outcome was never in question for Norview (22-3).
Woodside’s Chazlyn Dettor scored six first-quarter points, but her teammates were scoreless, and the Pilots jetted to a 21-6 lead which it extended to 33-8 by halftime.
Kiyah Fitchett scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the second quarter, while Leyla Minor scored all eight of her points in the first. And even as the second-seeded Pilots increased their lead to 36 points at the end of the third quarter, coach Jon Wilson was already identifying areas of improvement as his team starts to prepare for its clash with Menchville.