Stories

Suffocating: Miller girls’ defense locks down in second half to win BRC title

Photo by Bart Isley

Things spiraled a little bit for Miller’s girls basketball team in the second quarter of Saturday’s Blue Ridge Conference championship against New Covenant. 

 

After building a solid lead in the first quarter, the Mavericks watched it slip away in the second. 

 

“We started flat — I don’t know if we overlooked them because the first game (earlier this season) was kind of lopsided,” said Miller coach James Braxton. “But they came to play.”

 

It didn’t matter much in the end though, because Miller went right back to its usual lockdown self in the second half, holding New Covenant to just one field goal and nine points after the break en route to a 60-28 victory to clinch the Blue Ridge title. 

 

The win gives the Mavericks some momentum going into the state tournament.

 

“It makes us want to play super duper hard and win it this year,” said Miller’s Presleigh Braxton, who was named first team All-BRC after the game. “Because last year’s loss (in the state final to Highland) was really tough.”

 

Braxton had 16 points, with 10 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Along with Olivia Wagner, the BRC player of the year, finished with 17 points to lead the Mavericks’ offensive effort. It was particularly impressive that the Mavericks pulled away so decisively as they lost another All-BRC pick in Talia Prosper to an injury early in the second half. She’d scored eight points in the first half and was making life tough for New Covenant down low. 

 

“Her getting hurt in the second made us want to do really good,” Braxton said.

 

Shauna Russell stepped for the Mavericks as they pulled away, scoring seven of her 12 points after the half. 

 

The Mavericks now await their VISAA Division 2 state tournament seeding, where they’ll likely get a bye through the first round. As usual, the Mavericks are showing signs of peaking at the right time. 

 

“Some days I feel that way but we’re playing pretty decent basketball as a team,” James Braxton said. “Tonight is a good win for us because when you can win when you didn’t play well, that’s what we’re looking for. Because you’re not always going to play well.”

 

Comments

comments