Imani Bryant scored 21 points and Miller School used an opportunistic defense to power past visiting Norfolk Collegiate 58-43 Wednesday afternoon in the VISAA Division 2 state quarterfinals.
Bryant scored 17 of those points before halftime, including eight points of an early 10-1 run bridging the first and second quarters that put the Mavericks on top 15-6 a minute into the second period. The rest of the Mavericks scored 11 points collectively as Miller’s offense struggled outside of Bryant.
“We started the game pretty slow — I think we shot three airballs,” Miller coach James Braxton said. “We turned the ball over way too much in the first half. We always try to look inside first because Imani’s been so dominant.”
Miller turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, but led 28-18. The Oaks, who were looking to knock off their second straight Central Virginia opponent in as many days following a first-round win over Covenant, never got into an offensive rhythm. They also left several points on the board, going a dismal 1-for-6 from the foul line before the break.
Norfolk Collegiate opened the third quarter with a 5-0 spurt, but Miller answered right back with a three from Secret Bryant and a basket from Micah Maloney. That kicked off a back-and-forth quarter which saw the Mavericks margin stay stagnant at 40-30. Miller cut down on the turnovers in the second half, committing just five of their 16 for the game after the half. The Oaks committed the same amount.
“When we’re struggling to score it makes it hard for us to get into our press, which is what keeps us going,” Braxton said. “Some nights you can get set up and turn them over and get scores out of it.”
Two three-pointers from Aby Morrill early in the fourth quarter gave Miller a 14-point advantage and Norfolk Collegiate slowly ran out of gas. They never got it back into single digits again, and made just two of their eight three-point attempts in the second half.
The Mavericks suffered a scare in the waning seconds when Imani Bryant went tumbling to the ground and began favoring her left knee. But Bryant walked off under her own power after a couple of minutes and Braxton expects her to be ready for the next round.
“I think she just landed on it wrong,” Braxton said. “She’s pretty tough. She’ll be fine out there.”
Miller will play either Seton or Atlantic Shores on Friday at 4:30 at Richard Bland College.
