Prior to last year’s girls basketball season, River View had made the state tournament field just once.
Now the Raiders have made the big dance the last two years in a row and feel like they have the team to make a run at the Class A title.
If that is to be the case, No. 7 seed River View will have to first knock of No. 2 seed Cameron Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the Girls State Basketball Tournament played at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
“Cameron is young, but they were in the championship game last season,” Justice said. “They are an odd combination of youth and experience.”
The Dragons come to Charleston with a 21-4 record and have lost just once to a team from Class A – No. 1 Gilmer County.
Despite the impressive record, Justice is confident his team can get the job done Tuesday.
“We like the matchup. Hopefully playing teams like Tug Valley, Summers County, Tolsia and James Monroe will help us,” Justice said. “We feel like those teams are as good or better, so we feel prepared.”
Ashlynn Van Tassell will attract most of the attention from the Raiders. Justice feels keeping the 6-foot-2 sophomore in check will be the key to River View’s success.
“She is big and strong with good footwork. We have to box her out and keep her from getting touches,” Justice said. “Katie Bailey will draw that assignment for us.”
Sophomore Kenzie Clutter runs the show for the Dragons and is considered their best shooter with good ball skills according to Justice.
The second leading scorer for Cameron is freshman guard Maci Neely at 11 points per game.
“The rest of their players all average less then five points, but they all can really play,” Justice said.
Juniors Haylie Payne (15.1) and Trista Lester (13.1), along with senior Ali Morgan (12.2) are the leading scorers for the Raiders.
While Justice feels he need his big three to shine, he also knows it will take a team effort to knock off the highly-favored Dragons.
“We think the higher the score, the better it is for us. Hopefully Morgan and Lester can get out in transition and Payne can score in the half-court,” Justice said. “Our bench will also be a key and will need to perform when called upon.”
A win over Cameron will send River View to Thursday’s semifinal round where it will matchup against the winner of No. 3 seed Tug Valley and No. 6 seed Tucker County at 11:15 a.m.
“We have to limit turnovers, especially the unforced ones. We have to value our possessions and get good shots” Justice said. “I think we have more weapons, but they are good defenders which may cause us trouble in the half court.”
The Class A girls state championship game will be played Saturday at 10 a.m.
