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[Lynn Burke]

Hampton's Debbie Smith scores on a layup against Menchville. Photo by Diane Cebula/Daily Press

Heritage, Hampton again in PD girls final
By Lynn Burke
lburke@dailypress.com | 247-4961

NEWPORT NEWS — Their berths and their seeds in the Eastern Region tournament are secure. No matter what happens Friday night in Heritage's gym, both teams know when and were they’ll play Monday night.

So why is Friday’s girls championship game of the Peninsula District tournament such an enticing matchup?

For starters, Hampton High is the eight-time defending champion of the tournament, but only the second seed this year. That’s because Heritage finally solved the Crabbers’ mystique and beat Hampton twice during the regular season.

And Heritage, which hadn’t beaten the Crabbers for seven years until this year’s sweep, isn’t eager to let Hampton pull back some bragging rights.

To get to the championship game, the teams took slightly different paths through the semifinals.

Heritage (22-2) pulled away from Bethel in the second half. The Hurricanes went back to their strength and won 63-50.

Hampton (20-4) burst to a 21-4 lead after the first quarter and beat Menchville 70-35.

"We’ve played each other a million times and it’s a great rivalry," Hampton coach David Six said. "It should be entertaining."

Said Heritage coach Mike Gardner: "If we lose, even though we play again … you don’t want to do that."
All four semifinalists qualified for the regional tournament and will face Southeastern District teams in the first round.

Heritage, the district’s top seed, will be home to Western Branch, while Hampton will meet Southeastern No. 3 Nansemond River in Bethel’s gym.
Bethel will travel to play Indian River on Nansemond River’s floor, and Menchville will go to regular-season champion King’s Fork in Suffolk.

HERITAGE 63, BETHEL 50

While most of the attention was focused on Heritage and Hampton this year, Bethel (15-9) put together a team that could challenge the district’s upper echelon.
The Bruins lost to Hampton by five points late in the season and outhustled Heritage for a 30-all tie at halftime Thursday.
In the first quarter, Sonia Johnson and Bonae Holston roamed free under the basket and combined for 12 of the Hurricanes’ 20 points.
"We got some baskets and got going inside," said Gardner.
But Heritage went flat in the second quarter and Bethel caught up.
In the third quarter, Heritage went back to its strength. Holston and Johnson combined for 16 of the 19 points in the quarter.
"It’s not rocket science," said Gardner of getting the ball to the four-year veterans. "We stopped shooting jump shots."
Holston finished with 24 points and Johnson had 22.
Amber Easter led Bethel with 18 points. Easter, a co-player of the year in the Peninsula District, was bothered by fouls for much of the game. She had two in the first quarter, then picked up her third just before halftime.

HAMPTON 70, MENCHVILLE 35

Hampton had little trouble with Menchville, bursting to a 17-point lead after one quarter.
"We knew we would play tomorrow night, so we tried to conserve a little bit of energy, " Six said.
Alyssa Bennett was dominant for the Crabbers, leading all scorers with 25 points, but her activity wasn’t limited to just scoring. She was active on the boards and had several steals.
Tiffany Davis, who sat out Hampton’s quarterfinal victory over Warwick while resting an ankle injury, returned to score 15 points.
Menchville, seeded sixth, had upset No. 3 Woodside in the quarterfinals. After Thursday’s first quarter, the Monarchs never got closer than 15 points.

HERITAGE 63, BETHEL 50

BETHEL (15-9): Lewis 14, Easter 18, Williams 1, Bridgett 8, Smith 9. Totals 18 13-18 50.


HERITAGE (22-2): Robinson 5, Dickerson 4, McKeithan 4, Johnson 22, Holston 24, Thorpe 4. Totals 24 14-18 63.


Bethel 15 15 13 7 — 50

Heritage 20 10 19 14 — 63

3-point goals — Bethel 1 (Lewis), Heritage 1 (Robinson). Total fouls — Bethel 16, Heritage 17. Fouled out — Thorpe.

HAMPTON 70, MENCHVILLE 35

MENCHVILLE (12-12): Taylor 3, Harrington 8, Vedder 9, Howard 4, Bays 2, Elbourne 9. Totals 14 1-2 35.


HAMPTON (20-4): Lynch 4, T. Davis 15, Brown 2, Smith 8, J. Davis 1, Sears 8, Bennett 25, Hicks 7. Totals 26 17-24 70.


Menchville 4 15 11 5 — 35

Hampton 21 14 16 19 — 70

3-point goals — Menchville 6 (Harrington 2, Vedder 3, Elbourne), Hampton 1 (T. Davis). Total fouls — Menchville 15, Hampton 8. Fouled out — none.

[1Ballfan4U]

No scores tonight?

[SIGMASAM757]

Heritge won by 10 points i think. i forgot the score. it was a close game. you would have loved it. Glad i did not have to wait for a package tonight