By Randy Arrington
SHENANDOAH, Feb. 20 — The second-seeded Panthers of Page County got a scare from No. 7 Stuarts Draft in the first round of the Region 2B tournament on Tuesday night. If not for a dominant performance in the second quarter and a game-high 20 points from sophomore Ali Purdham, the quarterfinal match-up might have meant an early exit for Page.
The Panthers shot a modest 42.5 percent from the floor and hit 77 percent from the line, but seemed sluggish at times as Page committed 15 turnovers. The Cougars would hit 38 percent from the floor and 71 percent from the line, while committing 17 turnovers.
Stuarts Draft (12-11) came into Tuesday’s quarterfinal having lost four of their last six games, while Page (19-8) had won nine of its last 10. However, the No.2/No.7 matchup was closer than it probably should have been due to the Panthers underperforming, and the Cougars overperforming.
The lower seed jumped out to a 6-2 lead over the first four minutes, before the home team leveled things out at 12-12 by the end of the first quarter. Draft hit four three-pointers in the first half and went perfect at the line. However, the Cougars would commit 12 of their 17 turnovers in the first half as well.
That allowed Page an opportunity to catch up in the first frame and then go on a 16-9 run in the second. Purdham posted 13 of her 20 points in the first half — including a trio of three-pointers — and went 4-for-4 at the line. Page took a 28-21 lead into halftime.
Both teams struggled in the third quarter — committing 10 turnovers in eight minutes between them, and knotting up in an 8-8 tie. Draft senior Hailey Cox hit her second and third three-pointers during the frame, while Page got triples from Purdham and senior Taryn Eppard.
Draft would actually outscore Page in the fourth quarter 18-14, but thanks to a seven-point lead heading into the fourth and hitting 4-of-5 at the free throw line…Page County was able to hang on to win the quarterfinal by three, 50-47. After committing 16 turnovers in three quarters, the Cougars would only commit one in the fourth.
PCHS senior Faith Mason scored six of her nine points in the final frame. Eppard also posted nine points for the game, followed by seniors Bailee Gaskins and Adryn Martin with six each.
Stuart Draft was lead by Cox with 11 points, followed by freshman Augusta Seibert with 10 and freshman Karlee Layne with eight.
The No. 2 Panthers (19-8) will now host No. 6 Clarke (18-7) in a Region 2B semifinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Clarke upset third-seeded Buckingham, 73-30, on the road Tuesday night to advance to the semifinal round. Buckingham (16-6) finished the regular season as the No. 2 team in the James River District. Thursday’s winner at Page will advance to the Region 2B championship on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Shenandoah University.
No. 5 Luray 80, No. 4 Ft. Defiance 67
FORT DEFIANCE, Feb. 20 — A dominant performance in the first half lead to a 21-point lead at halftime for Luray, and they closed out a quarterfinal round victory, 80-67, in the Region 2B tournament at Fort Defiance on Tuesday night. Junior Blake Jenkins and senior Christian Lentz combined for 52 points during the game.
The Bulldogs shot 49 percent from the floor and hit 70 percent at the line. However, Luray would commit seven of their 16 turnovers in the fourth quarter, which allowed the Indians a chance to get back in the game. Fort Defiance was active and aggressive on the floor, taking 95 shots during the game — but only hitting 27 (28 percent). The Indians went 5-for-13 from the line, but only committed five turnovers.
Luray got in their groove early, jumping out to a 15-2 lead in just over three minutes, while the Indians started off 0-for-6 from the floor. Jenkins would score eight of Luray’s first 12 points. The Indians scored seven of their 14 points in the final two minutes. The Bulldogs took a 25-14 lead into the second frame.
Fort continued to struggle from the floor in the second quarter, hitting only 5-of-20. Meanwhile Luray rattled off points from five players, including two three-pointers from Jenkins. The Bulldogs built up a 47-26 lead heading into halftime.
The Indians would outscore Luray in both the third (20-13) and fourth (21-20) quarters. Fort Defiance hit six three-pointers in the second half, while only committing two turnovers. A total of 11 different Indians would score. Sophomore Gio Armendariz Cruz would score eight of his 13 points on the night in the second half, and senior Samuel Garber posted 11 of his team-high 18.
As usual, the Bulldogs came through at the line down the stretch, hitting 16-of-22 (73 percent) in the second half. Lentz posted 15 of his 25 points in the second half. After recording 18 points in the first half, Jenkins slowed down in the second, but finished with a game-high 27. Luray advanced to Friday’s semifinal after the 80-67 win on the road.
Lentz was a strong presence in the paint all night, but especially down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Jenkins went down hard with 1:37 left in the game and seemed to injure either an ankle or a knee. However, the tough junior guard walked gingerly off the court under his own power. Following Jenkins’ 27 points and Lentz’ 25, sophomore Matthew Owens recorded 12 points and sophomore Connor Hilliard had 10.
Fifth-seeded Luray (16-7) now travels to Madison County on Friday night to take on the top-seeded Mountaineers (19-7), who defeated No. 8 Central on Tuesday. Tip is at 7 p.m.
Friday’s winner at Madison will advance to the Region 2B championship on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Shenandoah University.
No. 1 Strasburg 53, No. 8 Luray 41
STRASBURG, Feb. 20 — Eighth-seeded Luray put up a tough fight against the No. 1 Rams of Strasburg on the road Tuesday night in a Region 2B tournament quarterfinal. Despite a lop-sided first quarter, the Bulldogs still had an opportunity to cut the deficit to a one-possession game with about five minutes remaining. However, the Rams had two-time Bull Run District Player of the Year Macy Smith back in the line-up (after missing the district championship on Friday) and closed out a 53-41 win at home to advance to Thursday’s semifinal round.
Strasburg was on fire in the first quarter, as five different players contributed to an 18-9 run. Luray only hit a third of their shots and committed six turnovers in eight minutes. However, the rest of the way, the Bulldogs were extremely competitive with the top team in the region
The Rams would shoot 50 percent from the floor in the first half and go a perfect 3-for-3 from the line, with only five turnovers. Luray went 5-for-6 at the line in the second quarter and got a couple of big baskets from senior Maggie Foltz. Strasburg only won the quarter 14-12, but the Rams took an 11-point, 32-21, lead into halftime.
Luray outscored Strasburg, 10-9, in the third behind three-pointers from Foltz and freshman Chloe Gochenour. Senior Lydia Parlett and sophomore Ella Parlett contributed three-pointers in the fourth. With 5:50 left in the game, senior Jillian Parlett hit a short jumper that cut the deficit down to six at 42-36…but Luray would not be able to get any closer.
Strasburg would win the final frame 12-10 and claim a 53-41, quarterfinal round victory. Sophomore Emily Gorrell lead the Rams with a game-high 18 points, followed by Smith with 15 and junior Addie Morgan with 10.
Luray was lead by three players with nine points — all seniors — Emily Donovan, Jillian Parlett and Foltz. The Bulldogs complete the season at 6-17.
The top-seeded Rams (22-4) will now host No. 4 Central (16-6) on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. Central defeated No. 5 Ft. Defiance, 59-50, on Tuesday. Thursday’s winner at Strasburg will advance to the Region 2B championship on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Shenandoah University to face the winner of Page/Clarke.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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