HILLSVILLE –– Like any good team will do, Carroll County’s shooters were taking what the opposing defense was giving them.
Magna Vista was in a giving mood.
The Cavaliers shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, including a blistering 9-of-15 from 3-point range, and trounced the Warriors 71-29 in the Region IV Division 4 quarterfinals Tuesday.
ELLISTON –– Galax was 1 for 2 in Region C Division 1 championship games Saturday night, winning the boys’ title over Parry McCluer and dropping the girls’ final to Covington.
The defending state champs, Galax pounded the ball inside in the second half and turned a 2-point halftime lead into a 14-point spread by the end of the third quarter, rolling to the 69-52 win over the Fighting Blues.
Maroon Tide big guys Devonte McKinney and Lawrence Parsons combined for 40 points, 31 coming after halftime.
BLUEFIELD –– Count on it. Every couple of weeks, Austin Pack is bound to channel his inner Jimmer.
Having averaged 8.5 points in the nine games since unloading for 29 against Tazewell, the Galax point guard popped in 25 points Friday night, knocking down five 3-pointers and pacing the Maroon Tide in a 68-50 win over Grayson County in the Mountain Empire District boys’ tournament championship game at Graham Middle School.
HILLSVILLE –– Lindsay Martin scored the 1,000th point of her varsity career Tuesday night. Somewhere up in the stands probably sat a little elementary school girl thinking, ‘That’s me some day.’
Thus is the self-fulfilling prophecy of Carroll County girls’ basketball.
DENVER –– University of Denver strength and conditioning assistant coach Kathryn Whartenby has been promoted to head strength and conditioning coach, Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Recreation and Ritchie Center Operations Peg Bradley-Doppes announced Tuesday.
Galax scored 54 points and lost by 58. The Maroon Tide was dunked on, pick-pocketed and generally woodshedded.
And the experience will be among the fondest of memories for a team that can also reminisce about having won a state championship.
Oak Hill Academy came as advertised and left its mark on an overflow crowd at the GHS gym, powering its way to a 112-54 win over the defending Division 1 state champs in a nondistrict game Thursday night.
INDEPENDENCE –– Playing an average of a game every two days for a month will take its toll on a team’s legs. Galax’s had just enough spring in them to keep a step ahead of the rest of the district.
In danger of falling into a three-way tie for the Mountain Empire District lead, the Maroon Tide made a two-point lead stand up through two late Grayson County possessions and escaped with a 63-61 thriller Friday night.
MAX MEADOWS –– After being hammered by 24 points the last time out on its home floor, one big question about Fort Chiswell was how would the Pioneers respond.
Quite nicely, as it turned out. Now the same must be asked of Galax.
The Maroon Tide saw its 31-game winning streak come to a halt Wednesday night as Fort Chiswell used a strong finish to take a 54-50 win in a Mountain Empire District game. The loss was Galax’s first since a one-point setback to Grayson County on Jan. 25 of last year.
More than a month after Galax and Carroll County were scheduled to have played each other for the second time, the two teams got together Monday for their first and only meeting this season, swapping the lead an amazing 20 times before the Maroon Tide pulled away for a 49-43 nondistrict win.