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VISAA Division II Boys Basketball Quarterfinals
No. 11 Miller School (14-12) at No. 3 St. Anne’s-Belfield (19-7), 7 p.m.

 

The basics: STAB is riding high after a Prep League Tournament title run that exorcised some of their regular season demons caused by some close losses. But there’s no question the Saints appear to be peaking at the right time as they beat St. Christopher’s 81-73 in the tournament championship after taking Trinity Episcopal apart in the semifinals. With tournament MVP Javin DeLaurier leading the way, the Saints are in great shape, with a two-way force that shows up each and every night for STAB. He had 25 points against St. Christopher’s. With that said, Miller doesn’t have anyone who can offset Javin themselves, they’re going to have to get it done as a group, which is no small task considering DeLaurier’s talented, efficient supporting cast. Against Walsingham Academy, the Mavericks showed some grit, toughing out a double overtime win on the road. Can they summon up enough offense against the Saints to make it two upsets in a row? That’ll be the key for the Mavericks. That means Jaylin Reed and company need to attack relentlessly and produce. Reed finished with 20 points to lead Miller past Walsingham on Tuesday.

 

Key matchup: Miller’s stingy defense takes on STAB’s multi-faceted, electric offense. The Mavericks surrender just 55.2 points per game and that defense generally shows up night in and night out. But clamping down on the Saints, who bring DeLaurier, Jalen Harrison, Jayden Nixon and Kareem Johnson among others who can create and score? That’s one of the bigger challenges Miller will face this year and the Mavericks will do it on short rest, about 24 hours after that double overtime marathon with Walsingham. Can Miller find its legs again?

 

Player to watch: STAB’s Matt Palumbo. Let’s just refer to Palumbo as what he is — STAB’s zone buster. The sophomore’s all-around game is coming along nicely. He’s young and he’s much improved defensively this year while also flashing the ability to take the ball to the rim. But his elite skill is still as a sharpshooter beyond the arc. Palumbo flipped the entire script when he entered the Saints’ clash with Trinity Episcopal in the Prep League semifinals, hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter to yank the Titans back out of their zone defense. That in turn opened things up for DeLaurier and company to operate. Palumbo is a key weapon for STAB, even just as a threat. When he’s also connecting he’s a game-changer.

 

The line: STAB by 7. The Saints are as hungry as anyone in the Division II tournament after a quarterfinal exit last year against Carlisle. They’ll be locked in for this one, but Miller is riding a little momentum too.

 

No. 8 Hampton Roads Academy (19-7) at No. 1 Blue Ridge (22-3), 6:30 p.m.

 

The Basics: Blue Ridge’s state title defense truly begins right here. The core to make a run like last year’s squad did is back again as the Barons’ boast one of the state’s top trios with point guard Malik Johnson, 6-foot-6 Scott Spencer and big man Aamir Simms. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It seems like anyone on the roster can hurt the opposition. So Hampton Roads Academy faces a tall task trying to derail what may already be a runaway train headed for the state finals. The Navigators have also done most of their winning this year at home with a 12-0 record at their own gym. Traveling to Blue Ridge is never easy for opposing teams, and the Barons are 7-0 at home this year. If Blue Ridge can get rolling out the gate, it’s going to be a quick match as the Barons are a second half team that’s played it’s best in the last 16 minutes for the bulk of the season if you ask coach Cade Lemcke. Obviously, that’s not exactly the perspective of Blue Ridge’s opponents which have faced uphill battles for all 32 minutes in the vast majority of games.

 

Key Matchup: Hampton Roads Academy’s Anthony Picott takes on Blue Ridge’s pressure-oriented defense that plays with an edge. Picott is a 6-foot-4 guard who had 15 points in the Navigators’ conference semifinal loss to Walsingham Academy. At 6-foot-4 as a shooting guard, Picott is usually a major matchup problem, but Blue Ridge is one of those rare teams where that won’t be an issue at all. Spencer is 6-foot-6 and capable of guarding anyone in the backcourt. That’ll force Picott to find different ways to attack and create offense for the Navigators. Against Blue Ridge’s defense, you don’t get long to make a decision and probe, because by then the Barons are on you and often heading the other way after a turnover.

 

Player to watch: Blue Ridge’s Sasha Yadrishchenskiy is far from the flashiest name on the Barons’ roster, but the 6-foot-3 Russian played a huge game defensively for the Barons against Carlisle in an overtime victory in the VIC tournament championship game. With so many offensive weapons and a group that has truly bought into Blue Ridge’s team defensive concept this season, Yadrishchenskiy is an extremely valuable, versatile defender. In other words, he’s exactly the kind of player the Barons need to make another strong stretch run — someone who doesn’t need to touch the ball offensively to make a major impact on the game.

 

The line: Blue Ridge by 10. The Barons are on a mission to repeat as state champions and they simply have too many weapons for HRA to contend with.

 

VISAA Division I Girls Basketball Quarterfinals

 

No. 7 Flint Hill at No. 2 St. Anne’s-Belfield (20-3), 5:30 p.m.

 

The Basics: STAB’s girls basketball team won its third straight LIS title and now they’re looking to earn a second-straight berth in the state final. That starts with taking on Flint Hill a night after the Huskies handled their business against Cape Henry at home. The fact that Flint Hill played Tuesday and now has to take on a STAB squad that likes to run from the opening tip. It won’t be easy to get in gear against STAB with the fast pace that star point guard Bri Tinsley sets for the Saints and even if they can hang early, STAB has too many ways to beat the opposition as the game wears on, whether it’s Ashley Taylor hitting 3-pointers or Jayla Davis attacking the basket or Jovia Winkey subbing in for Tinsley and keeping the squad’s breakneck pace going. Mailynn Steppe also seems likely to have a big game or stretch during this tournament run. The weapons are endless, Flint Hill has a huge challenge ahead of it.

 

Key Matchup: Flint Hill senior Lindsey Wiley takes on STAB’s deep, talented backcourt. Wiley is the Huskies’ leading scorer and leading playmaker, checking in with 10.2 points and 3.1 assists per outing. She faces perhaps the toughest matchup of her career as Tinsley, Winkey and Davis can, quite simply, play. They’re different stylistically but they all three bring an incredible level of intensity. That could create a lot of problems for Wiley as she tries to initiate the Huskies’ offense and create scoring opportunities.

 

Player to watch: STAB’s Sierra Smith. She may have been left off the All-LIS team, but everyone at STAB knows exactly how valuable Smith is. She is a rebounding and defense machine. She’s probably the area’s best pure rebounder, giving a STAB squad that lacks elite height in the post a critical piece of the puzzle that allows them to clean up the boards and limit opponents’ second chance opportunities. If Smith is on her game Wednesday, the Saints could make short work of the Huskies.

 

The line: STAB by 14. The Saints’ speed and array of offensive options should give them all the firepower they need to advance to the state semifinals.

 

VISAA Division II Girls Basketball Quarterfinals

 

No. 10 Norfolk Collegiate at No. 2 Miller School (17-12)

 

The Basics: Miller’s girls squad spent the first part of this season concerned about a lack of a true point guard, a natural occurrence after losing multi-year starter Lexi Mallory. But while the Mavericks may still not have that true facilitator at the point, they’ve managed to win a bunch of games and they’re now right back into a spot where they contend for a state title. The defending state champions are relying on a number of new faces, though they’ve played particularly well of late with a stingy, borderline suffocating defense as the calling card. Miller has won its last four games, including the Blue Ridge Conference title game with Carlisle 53-44. Can they keep it going against a Norfolk Collegiate squad that is playing on short rest after fighting off Covenant last night.

 

Key Matchup: Norfolk Collegiate tries to contend with Miller’s Micah Maloney. Maloney can make opponents pay consistently and is a matchup problem at 6-feet-0. If the Mavericks can find a way, particularly with Secret Bryant trying to run the offense, to get Maloney going, that’s going to force the Norfolk Collegiate defense to compensate and potentially open some other things up for the Mavericks.

 

Player to watch: Miller’s Imani Bryant. Bryant has been a double double machine this year, averaging a team high 13.2 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. The Howard-bound senior an extremely tough matchup problem, though Collegiate can counter with Shahrazad Madison who’s an athletic force in the paint. That paired with the Mighty Oaks’ aggressive trap defense will put the pressure on Miller to find Bryant early as they get the ball up court. If the Mavericks feed Bryant early and often, they can get Norfolk Collegiate in a hole and force them to play catch-up. That game of catch-up could be increasingly difficult too because of Bryant’s ability to limit an opponent’s second chance opportunities. One thing that was clear in Norfolk’s win over Covenant is that the Mighty Oaks will fly to the ball defensively, so if Miller can move well and get Bryant on open looks, they’ll be high-percentage baskets.

 

The line: Miller by 12. Mavericks are too good at home (12-2) to slip up here.

 

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