Blazers Prevail, 49-45
Posted: February 22, 2013
TIMBERLAKE — Obstacles facing Spotswood High School’s girls’ basketball team Thursday ranged from long arms in its opponent’s frontcourt to a delayed pancake dinner.
They almost caused the Blazers heartbreak for the second straight year.
Instead, Spotswood survived Fort Defiance 49-45 in the Region III, Division 3 semifinals at Brookville High School, nearly falling one stop short of a state tournament bid like it did last season.
“Champions do what it takes every game, whether they feel good or not,” a relieved SHS coach Chris Dodson said.
The Blazers (25-1) earned the Division 3 state berth while advancing to Saturday’s regional tournament final against host Brookville, which beat Northside in the other semifinal.
It was a year earlier in the semifinals when Spotswood lost to 52-51 to eventual state champion R.E. Lee. No Virginia school has beaten Spotswood since. (The Blazers’ lone loss this season came to a Pennsylvania school at a tournament in Philadelphia.)
Fort (19-7), though, almost knocked out Spotswood – which might be the D-3 favorite this year – before the state tournament.
A disconcerting day for the Blazers started when they left school late, pulling into an IHOP outside of Lynchburg for their customary pregame meal barely an hour before the 6 p.m. game time. They scarfed down some food at 5 and didn’t arrive at Brookville until 5:30.
“By the second half, seriously, my stomach hurt so bad,” senior guard Bailey Williams said.
Her stomach could have hurt a lot worse after the game.
Williams, the Valley District Player of the Year and a North Carolina-Greensboro commit, had a frustrating night while being face-guarded by Fort freshman Tiffany Taylor. Williams had just six points through three quarters.
But junior forward Tayler Dodson – Coach Dodson’s daughter – made up the difference. She finished with 19 points, including nine straight for the Blazers in a stretch from 3:40 left in the third quarter to 5:00 in the fourth, when SHS clung to a 41-39 lead.
“I’ve been getting double-teamed all season, and I’ve just kind of let it get to me – I‘ve just let ’em double-team me, and I haven‘t taken it strong to the goal at all,” Dodson said. “So tonight, I knew that I had to come in here and I had to score the ball, or else stuff like [Taylor] face guarding Bailey was going to get to us.”
The Indians – who committed 28 turnovers against Spotswood‘s full-court pressure, but had few of them go the other way for buckets – led eight times, including 42-41 with 3 minutes remaining after junior forward Megan Good hit a runner in the lane.
But Williams scored her first points of the second half on a lay-up inside with 2:52 left, and she and Dodson combined to hit five free throws the rest of the way to seal it. Spotswood came up with several crucial stops in that stretch, including a charge taken by Williams with 2:06 remaining, and a 5-second call on a Fort inbounds pass with 10.9 seconds left.
At that point, the Blazers led 47-43, their largest lead since 17-12 in the second quarter.
“I think we held most of the control over the fourth quarter, but it was a little shaky there,” said Williams, who finished with 12 points.
The lengthy frontcourt of Good (16 points), junior Devon Byrd (14) and senior Reagan Uhler (11) did most of the damage for Fort, which also played Spotswood close (59-54) in Penn Laird on Jan. 14 before getting blown out 59-39 at home Feb. 8.
“They carried out the game plan, they played as hard as they could – one possession short,” said Fort coach Patrick Hartley, who had a starter and a key reserve out with injuries. “For us to be in that situation, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
FORT DEFIANCE
Good 7 2-2 16, Taylor 2 0-0 4, Byrd 6 2-2 14, Uhler 5 1-2 11. Totals 20 5-6 45.
SPOTSWOOD
Williams 3 6-9 12, Lindsay 2 0-0 5, Dofflemyer 2 0-0 6, Lam 3 0-0 7, Dodson 6 7-12 19, Propes 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 13-23 49.
Fort Defiance 15 7 18 8 - 45
Spotswood 9 14 14 9 - 49
3-Point Goals-Fort 0, Spotswood 4 (Lindsay 1, Dofflemyer 2, Lam 1). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Fort 30 (Uhler 11), Spotswood 18 (Dodson 7). Total Fouls-Fort 15, Spotswood 10.
They almost caused the Blazers heartbreak for the second straight year.
Instead, Spotswood survived Fort Defiance 49-45 in the Region III, Division 3 semifinals at Brookville High School, nearly falling one stop short of a state tournament bid like it did last season.
“Champions do what it takes every game, whether they feel good or not,” a relieved SHS coach Chris Dodson said.
The Blazers (25-1) earned the Division 3 state berth while advancing to Saturday’s regional tournament final against host Brookville, which beat Northside in the other semifinal.
It was a year earlier in the semifinals when Spotswood lost to 52-51 to eventual state champion R.E. Lee. No Virginia school has beaten Spotswood since. (The Blazers’ lone loss this season came to a Pennsylvania school at a tournament in Philadelphia.)
Fort (19-7), though, almost knocked out Spotswood – which might be the D-3 favorite this year – before the state tournament.
A disconcerting day for the Blazers started when they left school late, pulling into an IHOP outside of Lynchburg for their customary pregame meal barely an hour before the 6 p.m. game time. They scarfed down some food at 5 and didn’t arrive at Brookville until 5:30.
“By the second half, seriously, my stomach hurt so bad,” senior guard Bailey Williams said.
Her stomach could have hurt a lot worse after the game.
Williams, the Valley District Player of the Year and a North Carolina-Greensboro commit, had a frustrating night while being face-guarded by Fort freshman Tiffany Taylor. Williams had just six points through three quarters.
But junior forward Tayler Dodson – Coach Dodson’s daughter – made up the difference. She finished with 19 points, including nine straight for the Blazers in a stretch from 3:40 left in the third quarter to 5:00 in the fourth, when SHS clung to a 41-39 lead.
“I’ve been getting double-teamed all season, and I’ve just kind of let it get to me – I‘ve just let ’em double-team me, and I haven‘t taken it strong to the goal at all,” Dodson said. “So tonight, I knew that I had to come in here and I had to score the ball, or else stuff like [Taylor] face guarding Bailey was going to get to us.”
The Indians – who committed 28 turnovers against Spotswood‘s full-court pressure, but had few of them go the other way for buckets – led eight times, including 42-41 with 3 minutes remaining after junior forward Megan Good hit a runner in the lane.
But Williams scored her first points of the second half on a lay-up inside with 2:52 left, and she and Dodson combined to hit five free throws the rest of the way to seal it. Spotswood came up with several crucial stops in that stretch, including a charge taken by Williams with 2:06 remaining, and a 5-second call on a Fort inbounds pass with 10.9 seconds left.
At that point, the Blazers led 47-43, their largest lead since 17-12 in the second quarter.
“I think we held most of the control over the fourth quarter, but it was a little shaky there,” said Williams, who finished with 12 points.
The lengthy frontcourt of Good (16 points), junior Devon Byrd (14) and senior Reagan Uhler (11) did most of the damage for Fort, which also played Spotswood close (59-54) in Penn Laird on Jan. 14 before getting blown out 59-39 at home Feb. 8.
“They carried out the game plan, they played as hard as they could – one possession short,” said Fort coach Patrick Hartley, who had a starter and a key reserve out with injuries. “For us to be in that situation, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
FORT DEFIANCE
Good 7 2-2 16, Taylor 2 0-0 4, Byrd 6 2-2 14, Uhler 5 1-2 11. Totals 20 5-6 45.
SPOTSWOOD
Williams 3 6-9 12, Lindsay 2 0-0 5, Dofflemyer 2 0-0 6, Lam 3 0-0 7, Dodson 6 7-12 19, Propes 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 13-23 49.
Fort Defiance 15 7 18 8 - 45
Spotswood 9 14 14 9 - 49
3-Point Goals-Fort 0, Spotswood 4 (Lindsay 1, Dofflemyer 2, Lam 1). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Fort 30 (Uhler 11), Spotswood 18 (Dodson 7). Total Fouls-Fort 15, Spotswood 10.