No. 5 Henrico knocks off No. 2 Hanover for second consecutive region title

The final horn had sounded a moment earlier setting off a spontaneous celebration on the court when Henrico basketball coach Lawrence Bray turned toward the Warrior faithful cheering loudly from the bleachers behind him and jubilantly thrust his arms high into the air.

The legion of loyal supporters who had made the trip out U.S. 301 to Hanover High to witness the championship game of the Region 4B tournament responded by cranking up the volume even higher.

They were ecstatic, for sure, because they’d just spent 32 intense-but-enjoyable minutes of scoreboard-clock time watching Bray’s crew, the No. 5 seed, dispatch the No. 2 Hawks 59-38 to claim its second consecutive regional title.

“We played a strong schedule,” Bray said. “We tried to get the girls out there and challenge them early against some really tough competition so they know what to expect come playoff time.”

How does it feel to score a repeat?

“It feels great,” he said. “We’ve been talking since the first workout that we want to run it back. That’s been our motto all season: run it back.”

With an emphasis on the “run.”

From the opening tap, which they controlled, the Warriors executed at a pace which seemed stuck on fast-forward.

They employed a mobile, aggressive 2-3 matchup zone, which was designed to pressure the ball, extend far enough onto the perimeter to wreak havoc on the Hawks’ usually reliable outside shooters, and still defend the paint.

As has been the case all season, their passionately contested defense did not just stop Hanover’s offense. It created offensive opportunities.

“Everybody was able to take part in the defense,” said Kalyn Rawlings, Henrico’s 6-0 sophomore center who finished with 14 points and made the Hawks’ forays into the middle an adventure.

“We prepared for this. We knew we had to stop the back door cuts and all their 3’s. We were just locking up.”

Henrico (17-6) limited the Hawks (16-5) to 13-for-51 shooting, outrebounded them 44-32, and forced 13 turnovers while committing 22 themselves.

The Warriors led 13-2 after a quarter, fended off a comeback attempt in the second, went into the break ahead 25-19, expanded their lead to 32-23 after three quarters, and put the game away with a 25-15 fourth.

“Defense won this game for us,” said 5-7 junior guard Kelsea Bennett. “We knew that they were strong. We recognized in the film that they have shooters. We just played extraordinary defense today.”

The Warriors made their statement by bolting to an 11-1 lead and holding the Hawks to 0-for-15 from the field in the first quarter.

“We wanted to establish our dominance in our zone,” Bray said. “Hanover has a great 3-point shooting team. We wanted to make sure we contested all 3-point shot, rebound, and push the ball up the floor.

“The idea was to run them off the 3-point line and not let them set up and shoot 3’s.”

For a stretch in the second quarter, though, the Hawks willed themselves into a comfortable, albeit intense and fast-paced rhythm.

 Maddy McCarthy (11 points) drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. C-Jay Bournes (12 points) scored twice, once on a layup following a steal at midcourt and then on a jumper off a McCarthy assist. Laila Mercer scored off an offensive rebound to close the gap to 23-19 at 2:25 of the second quarter.

The Hawks hung around well into the third through sheer grit and hustle.

Then, two 3-pointers by 5-9 freshman forward Brooklyn Stockton sparked the Warriors to a 47-28 lead with five minutes left in the fourth.

“I just let it go, and it ended up going in,” said Stockton (18 points) of her key strikes from behind the arc. “The crowd cheering me on was getting me hyped, so I just kept on shooting. I was just playing each possession, getting my teammates involved, and moving on to the next play if something didn’t go our way.”

Still scrapping and clawing, the Hawks refused to go quietly and used close-range buckets by McCarthy, Claire Rosenfeldt (13 points), and Bournes to close to 47-34 with three minutes left.

Baskets by Rawlings and Ne’Vaeh Younger and 7-for-10 shooting from the free throw line in the final three minutes put the game away. 

Bennett scored 11 of her 19 points, including 9-of-10 from the free throw line, in the fourth quarter.

Hanover’s players and their Henrico counterparts know each other well, for they played twice during the regular season and split 3-point decisions. 

“We knew that Hanover would make a run because in basketball, everybody makes runs,” said Bray as he stood amidst the revelry and accepted congratulations. “We told the girls to just stick with the game plan, keep working hard, and good things will happen.”