Louisa County girls basketball’s core group of players is no stranger to playoff games at this point, but the Lions still started a little slow Friday night on the offensive end.
The defense though? Lockdown as usual, giving the Lions a chance to settle in on offense and roll to a 66-34 victory over G.W. Danville. The win sets up a state championship game rematch Tuesday in the Region 4D semifinals as the Lions square off with the Pulaski team Louisa beat on the road almost a year to the date in the 2021 state title game.
Louisa held G.W. to single digits in the first three quarters, allowing the Lions to build a 28-16 lead by halftime despite the slow offensive start. It also helped that Sylvie Jackson herself didn’t start particularly slow as she scored six of her 23 points in the opening frame. Olivia McGhee finished with 14 including a 5-for-6 night at the free throw line while Janie Smith had 15 points, going 4-for-5 at the stripe.
Haley Walker buried a couple of fourth quarter 3-pointers and Emion Byers hit an early 3-pointer for the Lions.
The clash with Pulaski is setting up similarly to Louisa’s all-time classic in the Region 4B semifinals with Monacan where two of the state’s best are facing off in what appears to be a way-too-early elimination game. The Lions beat Monacan with their best performance of the year and with Pulaski sure to remember last year’s state title loss, Louisa will likely need its best again.
Louisa will face Pulaski at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
