VISAA Division II girls championship game at Richard Bland College
Miller (19-12) versus Nansemond Suffolk (21-3), 1 p.m.
The basics: The Mavericks and Saints meet in the title game for the second straight season here. Add to that, this will be Miller’s third straight Division II championship game. These two have not played this year, but have a handful of like opponents, and the score differentials are almost identical in winning efforts against Norfolk Collegiate. Other shared opponents include Division I standouts St. Catherine’s and Trinity Episcopal, both of whom beat the Division II schools here, but it was Miller who fared better in both cases if that’s worth anything. At the end of the day though, what you have are two evenly matched teams results wise that have cruised past their opponents in the previous two contests. The Mavericks dismantled Seton on Friday. The Saints did the same to Norfolk Christian in the semifinal prior. While these aren’t exactly the same teams from last year, they’re not far off so it will be interesting to see if the Saints fare better than they did in 2015 where Miller won by 32 points.
Key matchup: The Saints take on Miller’s interior offense in Imani Bryant and Micah Maloney. If you’re the Mavericks, you start inside and work your way out. Both Bryant and Maloney are capable of carrying the rebounding load and doling out the points in the paint. When they’re both on the court, it’s tough sledding for teams looking for second chances and worse on the other end of the floor considering they’re offensive is on point giving the Mavericks plenty of extra possessions. But the big thing is that the Mavericks can let both play aggressively and allow them to spell each other out, whether to avoid foul trouble or simply get some rest. It’s a nasty 1-2 punch to have in the key and the Saints will have to find a way to account for Bryant and Maloney on both sides of the court. That probably means packing it in down low defensively and hoping Miller has an off-night from outside. It also probably means trying to find open looks outside too on offense. Sometimes you have to roll the dice, and in this case, NSA has to given the dominance of the Mavericks front court.
Who to watch: Aby Morrill. The Mavericks are going to lean on Imani Bryant and Maloney down low, and they have Secret Bryant who can both shoot outside and penetrate. But this team showed a lot of confidence in Morrill on Saturday to knock down open shots. When Miller’s set offense went in motion, Morrill was able to get wide open in the corners and hit some big shots. If she’s knocking them down, the Saints are in trouble because there’s just no way to defend so much power in the paint and Secret Bryant’s shiftiness at guard too.
The line: Miller by 7. The Mavericks didn’t take kindly to the last line set and while they asked to be doubted again for one more piece of locker room material, you simply can’t pick against them the way their playing right now in this tournament. Sorry we couldn’t comply here.
VISAA Division II Boys Basketball Final at Virginia State University
Blue Ridge School (24-3) versus Virginia Episcopal, 2 p.m.
The Basics: Guess who’s back? For the second year in a row, Blue Ridge is playing for a state title, and potentially the program’s first back-to-back title stretch since 2000 and 2001. They’ll face a familiar foe in the title game too as they lock up with Virginia Episcopal, the same team Blue Ridge faced in last year’s title game and a regular conference foe in the VIC where Blue Ridge beat them twice this season, most recently a 5-point victory on February 20. Beating a team three times though is tough and Virginia Episcopal is coming in red hot, having upset Norfolk Collegiate and St. Anne’s-Belfield in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Blue Ridge’s offense bogged down in the first half against Carlisle Friday night. But there’s a pretty important trend that has developed this year for Blue Ridge — third quarter dominance. The Barons have won all but one third quarter by more than 10 points this season, putting in serious work after halftime. The Barons may occasionally start slow, but when things get serious as they do after halftime, that’s when Blue Ridge steps up and gets locked in. That could spell trouble for a VES squad that allowed STAB to claw back into the game at the start of the third quarter, surrendering a 7-0 run in the semifinals to start the third. The matchup will feature a couple of the state’s best big men battling it out as Sacha Killeya-Jones (19 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks against STAB) and Aamir Simms (13.6 points per game, 9.1 boards per contest) go toe-to-toe. Both can step out and shoot, so that battle could happen all over the court. This should be a matchup of worthy adversaries with the state title on the line.
Key matchup: Blue Ridge’s array of on-ball defenders takes on Justice Kithchart. Kitchart’s stat line against STAB Friday night was a work of art: 29 points, 11 assists. It was everything a team could ask for from a point guard. That leaves it up to Josh Colon, Sasha Yadrishchenskly and Malik Johnson to try and clamp down on the VES star. They’ll also need to keep track of Kevin Quinn, who buried six 3-pointers against STAB in the first half, so the Barons certainly have their hands full just with the Bishops’ guards.
Who to watch: Blue Ridge’s Malik Johnson. We’ve written a lot about Johnson, perhaps the state’s most fearless, relentless point guard. He’s an incredible defender and he’s just electric with the ball in his hands. Johnson is the Barons’ engine, setting the tone with his intensity. Whenever they need a bucket, like they did in the second half of the Barons’ battle with Carlisle Friday, Johnson seems to come up with it. Friday he hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer before the half to give Blue Ridge a momentum jolt. Look for Johnson to ratchet his usual intensity up another notch.
The line: Blue Ridge by 5. The Barons are so good defensively that even with the Kithchart/Killeya-Jones combination, Blue Ridge should be able to close out a second-straight state championship.
VHSL Group 3A State Quarterfinals at Old Dominion
Western Albemarle (24-6) versus I.C. Norcom (26-1), 8:30 p.m.
The Basics: Western Albemarle has survived a tough conference, a loaded region and put together a strong run just to get to this point. But what they’re facing now I.C. Norcom is perhaps their toughest test all season. This isn’t going to be easy for the Warriors as they take on the two-time defending state champions I.C. Norcom in the Greyhounds’ own backyard. Norcom has a nine minute drive through the Midtown Tunnel from Portsmouth to ODU’s Ted Constant Center while the Warriors head to Norfolk from 176 miles away. The good news though? The Warriors don’t have to look far or way back into history for an excellent template — try last night when Western’s rival Albemarle beat Hampton to claim a spot in the state final four. The Warriors struggled a couple of games back to shoot well, sputtering against Northside in a frustrating loss in the Region 3A West semifinals. The Warriors will need to shoot much better against the Greyhounds who can fill it up, as they did against Hopewell in the 3A East final, an 83-56 blowout of Hopewell. In that game, three Greyhounds had more than 20 points.
Key matchup: Point guards Ryan Ingram and Travis Fields lock up. Ingram has been a clutch, big-game performer all year for Western. Night in and night out he shows up, ready to play, ready to work hard on defense and ready to be the Warriors’ primary scoring threat and distributor. It’s a large responsibility load that Ingram has proven capable of carrying it. Against Norcom, he’ll matchup with Travis Fields, Norcom’s electric point guard who led the Greyhounds with 25 points in the region final. Whoever can gain the upper-hand in this matchup will give their team a big boost. Look for Ingram and Fields to battle it out wire-to-wire.
Who to watch: Western’s Josh Coffman and Chris McGahren are both capable shooters and big-time threats from beyond the 3-point line. With Norcom’s firepower, those two are going to have to bring it and connect early and often to help Western keep pace. Ingram can’t be the lone person looking to create his own shot and attack. A few 3-pointers would also go a long way toward loosening the Norcom defense up a little and cerate some room for Michael Vale underneath and Ingram off the drive.
The line: Norcom by 7. The Greyhounds are the two-time defending champions for a reason. If Western shoots well though, they’ll have a shot.
