Photos by Brian Hoffman
Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum will be the site of Region 3D basketball tournaments for boys and girls and this week. Semifinals are scheduled for Thursday and Friday and both championship games are Saturday.
Lord Botetourt’s boys and girls were hoping to make the trip to Blacksburg. Both had region quarterfinal games on Tuesday, but results were too late for publication.
The LB boys are the fifth seed and they were scheduled to play at fourth seeded Cave Spring on Tuesday. The survivor will meet the winner of a quarterfinal game between top-seeded Tunstall and ninth seeded Hidden Valley, and that game will be at Tech at 6 p.m. on Friday. The boys’ championship is Saturday at Virginia Tech at 8 p.m. and both finalists make the state tournament.
The Lord Botetourt girls are the top seed in the Region 3D tournament and they were scheduled to host eighth seeded Staunton River on Tuesday. The winner will get the Abingdon-Christiansburg winner on Thursday at 2 p.m. at Tech and the girls’ championship will be at 4 p.m. Saturday. Again, both finalists make the state field.
Botetourt came into the regional with a 21-3 record after winning the Blue Ridge District tournament last week. The Cavaliers beat William Fleming in the final at Lord Botetourt on Valentine’s Day, 57-52.
Botetourt jumped on the Colonels early, taking a 14-5 first quarter lead and pushing the lead to 25-7 midway through the second period. The Colonels rallied to make it close but were never able to catch up.
“That second quarter run is what saved us down the stretch,” said LB coach Renee Favaro. “I thought we did an excellent job in the first half, and really all game, in our half-court defense. The majority of their points came off turnovers.”
LB shot 50 percent from the field and the Cavalier defense held a strong Fleming team to just 25 percent shooting. Maddie Caron and Gracie Huffard both posted double-doubles for LB with 16 points and 10 rebounds each. Madilyn Winterton added 12 points and five assists while point guard Ainsley Anderson pulled down a team high 12 boards to go with her six assists and seven points.
Botetourt now goes into the region tournament without a loss to a Class 3 team all season. The Cavs’ three losses have been to 5A teams Patrick Henry and William Fleming and Riverside of South Carolina in a very tough Christmas tournament in Tennessee.