Charmco – Fast forward about six weeks and a Greenbrier West and River View girls basketball regional clash could be for a state tournament berth.
Monday night the two Region 3 foes met for the first time in the regular season.
While it was clear that both teams still have work to do in order to make the regional tournament, it was also clear that both are more than capable of making a state tournament run.
Clinging to a one-point lead with 1:42 to play, River View beat the Greenbrier West pressure for six straight points and held on for a 53-48 win.
“We were lucky to get away with this one,” River View head coach Gehrig Justice said. “(Greenbrier West head) Coach (Mark) Agee has done a really good job with his team. His team is so much more improved over last year. They gave us all we wanted. Foul shots didn’t help us any, but it didn’t help them either. Neither one of us could make any.”
Both teams were facing some issues to start the game.
Greenbrier West was missing two starting guards who were out nursing injuries. After battling a couple of quarantine situations earlier in the year, weather reared its head this week on the Raiders.
“We played Mountain Mission the other night, then we had two days of no practice. We practiced one day, then we were out of school,” Justice said. We also have two players that have been out since the Tug Valley game, so we were just rusty.”
In the early going, River View looked the part of a state tournament team running out to a quick 12-4 lead.
That was before the Cavaliers turned up the pressure and let it be known that the game would be battle to the final horn.
“We had it 12-4 there and then got sloppy with the press,” Justice “We tried to do to much and a couple shots rimmed out on us. Then we got frustrated.”
Adding to the Raiders frustration was poor foul shooting that prevented them from building a lead. In the first half, River View converted on just three of its 11 attempts.
Trailing by only two at halftime, the momentum belonged to the home team.
“We pressured the ball well and we took more shots tonight. The rotation we had worked out really good,” Agee said. “We got some younger girls in there and they are really picking it up. The girls really came out to play tonight. We forced turnovers and we made our easy layup attempts off those turnovers. River View just made a few more.”
Greenbrier West took its only lead of the night in the third quarter, but trailed by one with eight minutes to play.
“The key was that we stayed in control,” Justice said. “There was a time when they went up on us, but for most of the night we had a two-point lead. In the back of my mind I was thinking we would make a run, but we never could do that.”
River View pushed the lead to six with 4:49 to play, but Greenbrier West answered with buckets from Abigail Thomas and Brooke Nutter.
After both teams missed golden opportunities at the foul line, River View led by four with 2:02 to play.
A huge 3-pointer from freshman Maddi Fields sent the home crowd into a frenzy, but that was as close as the Cavaliers would get the rest of the way.
After struggling all night with the pressure from Greenbrier West, River View scored at the rim on three straight trips.
“We just didn’t stay between our man and the basket,” Agee said. “They threw the ball over our head and made some easy layups off of it. That hurt us for sure.”
With its big scorers struggling, the difference for River View was the game-high 18 points from Katie Bailey.
“Katie had a big night for us. Those were points we had to have. Twice they lost her on the press and she was open down low,” Justice said.
Thomas, Meagan Poticher and Preslee Treadway scored 11 points apiece for the Cavaliers, while Haylie Payne and Ali Morgan had 11 each for River View.
“After several close losses this year, we had to win a close game,” Justice said. “This was a regional win on the road, with no practice, so it was a big for us. We will take it.”
RV: 12 9 10 22 – 53
GW: 8 11 11 18 – 48
River View 53
Trista Lester 1, Kaylee Blankenship 6, Haylie Payne 11, Chloe Mitchem 1, Katie Bailey 18, Abigail Pruitt 5, Ali Morgan 11. Totals: 20 13-37 53.
Greenbrier West 48
Meagan Poticher 11, Ava Barclay 5, Brooke Nutter 2, Raelyn Palmer 2, Maddy Fields 6, Abigail Thomas 11, Preslee Treadway 11. Totals: 19 8-26 48.
3-pointers – RV: None; GW: 2 (Fields 2).
