Heritage Defeats Jamestown 58-33 In Ironclad (Conf. 18) Semis

From Daily Press - Thursday, February 16, 2017

NEWPORT NEWS – The Lady Hurricanes of Heritage used a swarming defense against Jamestown to break a close game open in the second quarter and defeat the Eagles 58-33 on Wednesday night.

With the win, Heritage earned a berth in the Ironclad Conference final where they will face top-seeded Grafton. The Clippers survived a scare from sixth-seeded Lafayette before regaining the lead in the final minute to win 57-54, and they will host Heritage on Thursday night at 7 PM.

Heritage (14-8) also clinched a berth in the 4A East regionals, which will begin next week.

The Hurricanes started out slow, and didn’t score until the game’s fourth minute.

“The kids understood the significance of this game,” said Coach Lanica Tallon. “They knew a win would solidify regionals, and they had to work the nervousness out.”

After a sluggish first quarter, which had Heritage holding on to a skittish 9-6 lead, the Lady Canes took control in the second quarter. A short jumper by Rheality Webb was followed on the next possession by another eight-footer from Special Bridges to extend Heritage’s lead to 20-10 midway through the period.

On the defensive end, Heritage was successful in containing Jamestown’s leading scorer Corynthian Williams. Williams, who averages 18 points per game, was held to a pair of free throws in the first half.

“We did some things to speed up our game, and it affected how Jamestown played,” said Tallon. “Our aggressiveness led to some good things.”

A put back basket by Jamestown’s Anaya Simmons made the score 21-12. But, on the next possession, the Canes’ Trinity Carter buried a three-pointer from the right wing. Just before halftime, it was Carter again who grabbed a defensive rebound from inside the paint, dribbled the length of the floor and scored on an underhanded flip that swished through the net. Heritage led 28-12 at the intermission.

Jamestown (14-10) found its firepower in the third quarter. Williams finally erupted and scored the Eagles first 11 points as the visitors attempted to climb back into contention. Annette O’Leary added five points for Jamestown in the final two minutes and the Eagles narrowed the lead to 11 at 42-31 after the third period.

However, Heritage started the final quarter with a 13-0 run to effectively put the game away. Webb led the Hurricanes with 15 points, while Bridges scored nine of her 13 in the fourth quarter. Williams topped all Jamestown scorers with 15 points.

Asked about the prospect of facing Grafton, a long-time Bay Rivers powerhouse, Tallon turned the focus to her team.

“We saw them at a Christmas tournament because we were in the same bracket. But we need to focus on us. We’re going to treat the game like any other. If we can take care of the little things, then I’ll live with the results.”

Jamestown   6,  6, 19, 2   -- 33

Heritage       9, 19, 14, 16 -- 58

JAMESTOWN (14-10): Knotts 2, C. Williams 15, O’Leary 10, Simmons 6. Totals 12 8-11 33.

HERITAGE (14-8):  Carter 8, Deloatch 4, Webb 15, Martinez 6, Bridges 13, Goodman 6, Newell 6. Totals 23 8-17 58.

3-point goals: Jamestown 1 (C. Williams), Heritage 4 (Carter 2, Martinez 2).