by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191
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Excuse me if your computer screen is wet. I’m drooling right now.
Thomas Dale’s Ka’lia Johnson and the Knights and Cosby’s Becca Wann and the Titans will battle in the Central Region girls basketball final Monday, March 1 at 6 p.m. at VCU’s Siegel Center.
The aforementioned players are sensational, routinely stuffing stat sheets with points, rebounds and assists, leading their teams to undefeated Central Region records.
One team will get a loss Monday, though, and have to travel in the state Group AAA tournament. The winner stays home for the ultimate tournament that begins Friday.
“It’s going to be a war,” Cosby coach Rachel Mead said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. Two really good teams, the two best teams in the region are playing for the championship.”
Johnson, a junior and future Duke Blue Devil, and Wann, a senior headed to Richmond to play basketball and soccer, are not the only players worth admission in this contest.
Let’s start with Dale.
Alyssa Frye, a College of Charleston signee, led Dale with 21 points in a dominating 75-49 defeat of Huguenot in the region semifinals.
Then there’s Andrea Hobbs, one of the elite shooters in the area. She had 16 points in Dale’s 25th win without a loss this season.
“There’s a lot at stake with the whole undefeated thing,” Johnson said. “But we can’t let that get to our head. It’s only big dogs now.”
The Titans boast Virginia-bound Jazmin Pitts (15 points, 12 boards in semis) and consummate scorer Andrea Bertrand, who poured in a game-high 28 points as Cosby cruised over Highland Springs, 76-44 in the semis.
But things will be a little tougher Monday.
“All season we’ve been anticipating that we would both be here,” Wann said. “Of course, when you think Dale, you think Ka’lia. She’s an awesome player and it’s going to be tough to stop her.
“The anticipation of the game is going to be awesome. It’s going to be worth everything that everybody’s been expecting.”
SEMIFINAL BOXES
Huguenot 7 19 9 14 – 49
T. Dale 24 19 15 17 – 75
Huguenot (15-7): Daeisha Brown 15, Trylanda Jennings 9, Ty Bender 14, Harvey 0, Cousins 4, Perkins 3, Fulcher 0, Mayfield 2, Dickson 0, Burton 0, Franklin 0, Winfield 0. Totals: 17 14-18 49. 3-point goals: Perkins.
Thomas Dale (25-0): Frye 21, Johnson 15, Williams 5, Hobbs 16, Bradley 8, Sweeney 9, Joyce 0, Jackson 0, Cofield 0, Knickerbocker 0. Totals: 25 18-31 75. 3-point goals: Frye 2, Bradley 2, Williams, Hobbs, Sweeney.
Highland Springs 11 14 9 10 – 44
Cosby 12 25 18 21 – 76
Highland Springs (19-4): Jones 2, Jefferies 3, Kyra Coleman 12, Cannon 3, Tinsley 2, Robinson 0, Jazzmin Dabney 13, Clark 4, Jenkins 3, Blake 2, Daniels 0, Cooper 0. Totals: 18 5-13 44. 3-point goals: Jefferies, Dabney, Jenkins.
Cosby (25-2): Nichols 4, Conyers 2, Wann 23, Bertrand 28, Pitts 15, Triplett 0, Christian 0, Morgan 0, Lennox 2, Barnett 0, Vaughan 2. Totals: 31 10-18 76. 3-point goals: Bertrand 2, Nichols, Wann.
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