Lady Cavs maintain SWD lead
Though it lacked a pretty finish, Carroll remained perfect in district play with an 11-point victory.
HILLSVILLE –– Carroll County kept Richlands winless, but it wasn’t effortless.
The league-leading Cavaliers led the cellar-dwelling Blue Tornado by just five points early in the second half before pulling out to as much as a 24-point advantage, then allowing Richlands to creep back before taking a 59-48 Southwest District girls’ win Saturday afternoon.
Richlands (0-12 overall, 0-7 district) managed just 12 first-half points and was behind 29-16 early in the second half when it reeled off eight unanswered points. Cassie Ringstaff scored six of the points and the Tornado closed to within 29-24 on Megan Robinson’s foul shot at 4:18 of the third.
Freshmen Lindsey Martin and Rachel Dalton each sank a 3-pointer as the Cavaliers (8-5, 6-0) closed the third period with nine straight points and a 38-24 lead.
Carroll County gradually pulled away in the early stages of the fourth quarter. Two Kayla Goins buckets, a stickback by Mary Alden Jones and a transition bucket from Cydnie Cornell highlighted a 13-2 Cavalier rally that was capped by a putback from Kaitlan Viars for a 54-30 Carroll County lead with three minutes to play.
With the Cavaliers substituting liberally, Viars’ basket would be Carroll’s last field goal until the Cavalier center scored again with 12 ticks remaining. In between, Richlands reeled off a 14-1 run, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Robinson pulled the Tornado back to within single digits, 55-46, with 48 seconds to go before the rally ran out of steam.
Carroll County opened the game as would be expected of a No. 1 team playing a No. 7. Audrey Dickens canned a 3-pointer and Cornell scored off a Goins steal as the Cavaliers scored the game’s first eight points. A Goins putback stretched the margin to 13-1, and Martin’s steal and layup widened the gap to 17-3 late in the first period.
The Cavaliers never found the range from the outside, missing 12 straight 3-point attempts after Dickens’ make, but thanks largely to a 27-15 rebounding advantage in the first half, Carroll still led 26-10 on a Dickens drive and a Kelsey Goad follow 1:54 before intermission.
Carroll County shot just 4 of 23 from long range and was only 13 for 31 from the foul line, but outrebounded the Tornado 52-38, led by Goins’ 10 boards. She also scored 16 points and came away with five steals. Dickens and Martin added nine points apiece.
Richlands got a game-high 20 points and six steals from Ringstaff.
Richlands 6 8 10 24––48
Carroll County 17 9 12 21––59
Richlands (0-12, 0-7)
Ringstaff 8 4-12 20, Robinson 2 3-6 9, Ferrell 2 1-2 5, Moir 1 3-6 5, Lindsey 0 1-4 1, Eads 0 0-0 0, Brady 2 1-4 6, Ratliff 0 2-4 2, Wicks 0 0-0 0, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Hess 0 0-1 0. Totals 15 15-38 48.
Carroll County (8-5, 6-0)
M.A.Jones 1 2-4 4, Goins 6 3-7 16, Cornell 2 0-4 4, Dickens 3 2-4 9, Viars 3 1-2 7, Dalton 1 3-4 6, Hill 0 0-1 0, Goad 1 1-2 3, Neely 0 1-3 1, C.Jones 0 0-0 0, Ayers 0 0-0 0, Martin 4 0-1 9. Easter 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13-32 59.
Three-point field goals – Richlands 3-20 (Robinson 2, Brady), Carroll County 4-23 (Dalton, Goins, Dickens, Martin). Rebounds – Richlands 38 (Lindsey 6), Carroll County 52 (Goins 10). Turnovers – Richlands 21, Carroll County 20. Steals – Richlands 13 (Ringstaff 6), Carroll County 13 (Goins 5). Team fouls – Richlands 25, Carroll County 25. Fouled out – Lindsey. Technical fouls – Carroll County bench.
JV – Carroll County 40-39.
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