After being pushed by Lafayette in a competitive first half, Tabb pulled away in the second half to earn a 60-42 road win on Thursday.
The game plan for Tabb was to shut down Lafayette’s guards Kenya Holiday and Rachel Lia, who like to play a slashing style of basketball.
Both Holiday and Lia were able to take advantage of Tabb’s man-to-man defense over the first 13 minutes of play, putting Tabb’s guards in foul trouble while trying to defend repeated drives into the lane.
Fortunately for Tabb, Lafayette’s drives were not resulting in points with regularity, as layups either rimmed out or were blocked by Tabb’s post players.
Lafayette opened the game on an 8-3 run, but Tabb was able to respond with a 7-0 run to take a 10-8 lead over the Rams. Tabb ultimately outscored Lafayette 17-12 in the first quarter.
The Rams, but specifically Lia, came out on fire to start the second quarter. Lia, who scored nine of her team-high 19 points in the second quarter, helped lead the Rams to a 13-4 run in the quarter.
With Lafayette leading 25-21 with three minutes left in the first half, Tabb switched from its man-to-man defense to a zone look in an attempt to stop Lafayette from penetrating the lane.
The defensive adjustment proved fruitful, as Tabb held Lafayette to three points over the final three minutes, all while scoring 11 points behind strong play from Imani McDowell-Jarmon, who logged eight points in the quarter.
“We went to the zone to help stop their dribble penetration. They have some good shooters, so it was a big emphasis to get out on their shooters,” Tabb Coach Jason Clarke said.
Tabb’s late surge helped the Tigers retake the lead and head into halftime with a 32-28 advantage over the Rams.
Continuing to play their zone defense, the Tigers shut down Lafayette’s offense in the second half. With Lafayette struggling to find open looks in the second half, the Rams were held to just 14 points over the final two quarters of play.
Offensively, McDowell-Jarmon continued her strong play with nine second-half points. Tabb point guard Tamia Smith also proved critical, scoring seven of her 14 points in the third quarter to help Tabb outpace Lafayette 18-9 in the quarter.
With Tabb leading by 13 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Tigers were able to cruise to the finish line in what ended up as a comfortable win for the first-place team in the Bay Rivers District.
Tabb (17-2) will look to extend its four-game win streak Monday on the road against Warhill. Lafayette (9-8) will continue its season on the road against Bruton on Monday.
Tabb: 17 15 18 10 — 60
Lafayette: 12 16 9 5 — 42
Tabb: Clemons 9, Smith 14, McDowell-Jarmon 19, Williams 6, Harper 6, Macfarlane 4, Eastep 2
Lafayette: R. Blake 4, K. Blake 2, Lia 19, Holiday 7, Hairston 2, McKnight 2, Rivera 3, Gubler 3
3-point goals: Tabb 5 (Clemons 3, Smith 2), Lafayette 4 (Lia, Holiday, Rivera, Gubler)
Jamestown Comes Up Short Against Smithfield
Jamestown came up short against Smithfield on the road Thursday, falling to the Packers 58-50.
The Eagles were led by Jamiyah Johnson, who logged a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Behind Johnson’s play, the Eagles outscored Smithfield 13-12 in the first quarter.
Smithfield battled back in the second quarter to overtake Jamestown and take a 26-22 lead by halftime.
Jamestown responded by outpacing Smithfield 18-12 in the third quarter, keeping with the back-and-forth nature of the game.
In the fourth quarter, free throws proved the difference maker for Smithfield, which scored 20 points to Jamestown’s 10 over the final eight minutes. The Packers attempted 24 free throws in the game, while Jamestown attempted 12.
Jamestown (11-7) will look to rebound Monday at home against Grafton.
Jamestown: 13 9 18 10 — 50
Smithfield: 12 14 12 20 — 58
Jamestown: Sim 2, Peterson 2, Boyd 6, Williams 6, Graves 8, Simmons 5, Johnson 21
Smithfield: Brooks 2, Atkinson 26, Cypress 2, Hill 5, Jordan 5, Tucker 8, Allmond 10
3-point goals: Jamestown 1 (Johnson), Smithfield 2 (Tucker 2)
Bruton Hangs on Against Poquoson
Bruton’s girls basketball team withstood a late rally by Poquoson to hang on for a 41-38 road win on Thursday.
Mychaela Lucas had a big game for Bruton, posting a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds. Naya Samuel led Bruton with 13 points.
After taking a 25-22 lead into the half, Bruton came out aggressively in the third quarter by utilizing a high-intensity man-to-man defense that wreaked havoc on Poquoson’s shooters.
The Panthers repeatedly forced turnovers and took advantage of points in transition, outscoring Poquoson 11-4 in the quarter.
However, Poquoson’s Sandra Fan caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of her game-high 17 points over the final eight minutes of play. Despite her late scoring run, Bruton was able to narrowly survive a tough road game against the Islanders.
Bruton (13-4) will try to extend its win streak to four games Monday at home against Lafayette.
Bruton: 10 15 11 5 — 41
Poquoson: 10 12 4 12 — 38
Bruton: Samuel 13, My. Johnson 4, Calloway 4, Ferguson 6, Ma. Johnson 2, Lucas 12
Poquoson: Moore 5, R. Erb 5, N. Erb 1, Fan 17, Forrest 2, Jennings 8
3-point goals: Poquoson 8 (Moore, R. Erb, Fan 4, Jennings 2)
Warhill had little trouble getting past New Kent 58-23 on the road Thursday.
The Lions had three players score in double figures on Thursday, Tyra Fannin and Alyssa Brungot each with 14 points, while Olivia Schulz had 12 points to go with 14 rebounds.
Warhill came out hot in the first quarter, outscoring the Trojans 20-5 over the first eight minutes of play. That domination continued in the second quarter as the Lions built a 32-9 halftime edge.
The second half was more of the same as Warhill continued to pull away from New Kent, even with reserve players entering the game.
Warhill (10-7) will look to extend its five-game win streak Monday at home against Tabb.
Warhill: 20 12 13 13 — 58
New Kent: 5 4 4 10 — 23
Warhill: Walters 2, Fannin 14, Rochard 5, J. Cooke 6, Doherty 3, Schulz 12, Ford 2, Brungot 14
New Kent: Simms 4, Goodlet 9, Yates 4, Oaks 5, Glover 1
3-point goals: Warhill 1 (Doherty), New Kent 1 (Goodlet)
Balanced Scoring Leads Grafton Over York
Three Grafton players — Haley Cunningham, Kelsey Hare and Mikaela Swann — scored in double figures to help the Clippers take down York 56-33 at home on Thursday.
Grafton took control of the game early in the first quarter, building a 10-point lead after the opening eight minutes of play. By halftime, Grafton extended its lead to 29-11.
The second half was more of the same as York — outside of Madison Van Dyke’s 11 points — struggled to find consistent offense against an aggressive Grafton defense.
Grafton’s lead slowly expanded in the second half as the Clippers were able to cruise down the stretch for the victory.
With the win, Grafton (8-9) snaps a two-game losing streak and will try to get back to .500 Monday on the road against Jamestown.
York (2-14) will try to snap a six-game losing streak Monday at home against Smithfield.
York: 4 7 11 11 — 33
Grafton: 14 15 13 14 — 56
York: Isaksen 3, Fowler 2, Van Dyke 11, North 4, Shoats 5, Horner 3, Winfree 4, Bennett 1
Grafton: Cunningham 12, Green 4, Franklin 5, Hare 11, Swann 14, Hamilton 1, Smith 9
3-point goals: York 2 (Van Dyke, Horner), Grafton 3 (Cunningham 2, Hare)
HRA Falls at Home Against St. Margaret’s
Hampton Roads Academy was unable to keep pace with St. Margaret’s at home Thursday during a 45-34 loss.
Despite 16 points from Leigha Arcand, the Navigators fell behind early against St. Margaret’s and were unable to rebound.
St. Margaret’s took a five-point lead in the first quarter and held a 23-19 lead at halftime. That lead continued to grow in the second half, eventually growing to double figures by the fourth quarter.
HRA (3-7) will face a quick turnaround with a home game against Norfolk Academy on Friday.
St. Margaret’s: 14 9 12 10 — 45
Hampton Roads: 9 10 7 8 — 34
St. Margaret’s: Hill 13, Pierce 6, O’Conner 13, Simms 4, Krusz 1, Baughan 8
Hampton Roads: Davis 4, Kingsbury 5, Teagle 6, Arcand 16, Smith 3
3-point goals: St. Margaret’s 1 (Hill)
