It wasn’t pretty despite the margin of victory, but with a heavy dose of Lilly Riggleman in the second half and a stingy defense, Miller’s girls basketball team advanced past Norfolk Collegiate 51-22 in the VISAA Division II quarterfinals.
“We really didn’t play well,” said Miller coach James Braxton. “But when you win by 30 and you didn’t play well you’ll take it. We came out kind of flat after a big win against LCA in the conference championship, but we’ll be ready for Friday.”
The Mavericks move on to the state semifinals hosted at St. Anne’s-Belfield where they’ll face Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Friday.
Riggleman scored 13 of her 18 points after the break to help steady the Mavericks offensively, getting into a groove after a slow first half for the entire Miller offense. But the defensive clamp down took things to another level for the Mavericks as they held the Oaks to just one point in the third quarter on a single free throw. Norfolk Collegiate couldn’t score anything from the field.
Miller built a 7-1 lead in the first quarter with a similarly hard-nosed defensive effort, but by halftime the Oaks had clawed back into things. They trailed just 13-9 going into the break with Shahra Madison scoring all nine of Norfolk Collegiate’s points as Miller went cold on the offensive end.
Miller adjusted and created turnover after turnover in the 22-1 run during the third quarter that took Norfolk Collegiate out of the game. Lexi Mallory had five points during that assault, Adrienne Darden had four and Rachel Odumu had four as well in addition to Riggleman’s nine during the frame.
The Mavericks and NSA will face off at STAB at 1:30 p.m. Friday. NSA beat Norfolk Christian in the quarterfinals 67-31.
