Manchester prevails over Highland Springs in matchup of girls basketball powerhouses
They don’t mess around.
Oh, sure, the Manchester Lancers derive great joy from playing basketball, improving every facet of their individual and collective game, and sharing a fun team experience with one another.
When it comes to maintaining the level of excellence that has been their hallmark, though, each time they take the court for practice or competitions, they shift into eye-of-the-tiger, game-on mode.
Such was the case Thursday night when they defeated Highland Springs 71-55 on the Springers’ George B. Lancaster Jr. Court in a matchup of Central Virginia powers.
Though the 16-point differential suggests that their victory came easily, the home team, quick, fast, athletic, and feisty, made them earn every single point they scored.
“Starting in the fall,” said Coach Rasheed Wright, “there was a consistent, intentional aggression in the weight room, getting in shape, ball handling, shooting, everybody raising their level.”
The Lancers reached the VHSL Class 6 state championship game in each of the past three years and won in 2024.
The linchpins of those teams were Mia Woolfolk and Rayne Wright, but the former graduated two years ago and now plays for Georgia, and the latter finished last year and plays for Richmond.
“Now, our complementary players have to be our main contributors,” Wright, the coach, said. “It’s being disciplined and focused and competing every game. That’s been our mantra for the year.
“Today wasn’t our best showing, but considering how the rhythm of the game went, they held it together, and we came out victorious.”
Manchester (19-1) jumped out quickly, led 19-10 after a quarter, and, with 6-1 forward Madison Smith scoring 14 of her 20 points, went into halftime up 37-22.
“I’ve studied and focused on the things I needed to work on,” said Smith. “On this team now, I have a big role. I have to rebound and score whenever I can. If I drive and my shot’s not there, I kick it out to a teammate.”
Smith, starting point guard Finley Weaver, and Weaver’s backup McKenzy Allen got in foul trouble early and spent more time than they would like on the bench.
That’s part of the game when you play with passion and intensity, Smith said.
“Whenever I get in foul trouble, I’m just, hands up, hold on,” she said. “I think about step away, out of the way and don’t go for blocks. I just try to keep playing and think, next play.”
Though down 18 early in the third quarter following Smith’s 3-point play, the Springers (10-5) wouldn’t go away.
Two unanswered 3-pointers by Tariah Bailey cut their deficit to 40-28. After Smith scored from close range, Amirah Collins added another 3-ball at 4:57, Kaelyn Taylor hit a short floater from the left side, and Highland Springs trailed 42-33 at 4:30.
At 4:17, Wright called time to slow the home team’s momentum and settle his crew.
With Smith on the bench with four fouls, 5-9 sophomore Nova Taylor picked up the slack in the paint and scored seven of her 10 points in a three-minute span to spark the Lancers to a 53-42 lead after three quarters.
“This isn’t the first team that’s played us really tough,” said Smith. “We don’t mind how hard they’re going or if they’re fouling because we have a standard, and we want to keep that standard.”
Manchester’s Mya Adkinson opened the fourth with a 3-pointer from the right wing. Smith scored on a putback off an offensive rebound, KK Edwards (15 points) hit a layup off Smith’s assist, and Finley Weaver (11 points) burned the Springers with a transition layup at 5:44 to complete a 9-0 run that built a 62-42 lead.
“It’s always next-play mentality,” said Edwards, a 5-2 senior guard and four-year veteran. “The younger players know I expect the moon and the stars from them. When they mess up, it doesn’t matter. Just keep playing. The game keeps going whether you mess up or not.”
The Lancers, who showed a variety of defensive looks designed to keep the home team off balance, committed 20 fouls.
“We kept our heads in the game,” said Edwards. “There’re always going to be runs. It’s important that when the other team goes on a run, we get a stop and then score off the advantage of stopping them.
“We never got too frustrated, regardless if the game was going against us. We stayed as a team. We moved the ball well and shot well in the second half.”
Manchester shot 27-for-53 from the field, scored 36 points in the paint, outrebounded the Springers 39-27, forced 19-for-44 shooting and 14 turnovers, and committed 12, many of them costly.
Bailey led Highland Springs with 14 points. Taylor, Collins, and Jesiah Young scored 12 apiece.
With their 17th consecutive victory, the Lancers move closer to their goal of returning in March to the Siegel Center, the site of the VHSL championship games.
“We’re talking about years and years of work,” Wright said of the development of the Manchester program during his seven years at the helm. “These girls have been working since elementary and middle school.
“It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint. It’s not magic. It’s tears, it’s phone calls, it’s hard work, it’s sacrifice, it’s commitment, and by the time they’re 16 or 17 years old, they’re ready to compete at a high level.”
