Altavista advances to Dogwood tourney finals

ALTAVISTA — In the opening minute of the second quarter in the Dogwood District girls tournament Division 1 final, Altavista guard T.T. Dews knocked down her first of four 3-pointers to put her squad up by 10 points on visiting Dan River. While her shot helped Altavista solidify its dominance over a struggling team that appeared out of sync in the first half, it also acted as a dagger to Dan River’s hopes of knocking off the Colonels for the second time in two weeks.

Dews (18 points) went on to hit two more 3s in the next five minutes and Altavista used an 18-3 second-quarter run to cruise past the Wildcats, 60-37 on Tuesday.

With the win, Altavista (12-7, 11-2) avenged last week’s six-point loss to the Wildcats and advances to Friday’s district championship at regular-season champion Chatham.

“This was a big game for us,” Altavista senior Kayla Donigan said. “We’ve been practicing hard and we came out here and played together and we got the win.”

Altavista coach Debra Spencer said her squad’s effort in the second quarter was vital to the game’s outcome.

“That was probably as good as we played all year,” Spencer said. “We got on that run and we were able to limit their second shots. We were aggressive to the boards and scored some easy baskets.”

Altavista’s style of play early was indicative of the majority of the contest, as they used a series of runs to deal Dan River blow after blow.

Kalia Donigan had 14 points for Altavista and Sydney Morris turned in a solid performance with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds).

Dan River junior Raven Richardson posted a double-double in the Wildcats’ win over the Colonels, but she was held to two points Tuesday.

Senior point guard Mariah Stephens (11 points, seven steals) and sophomore guard N’taezha Davis (14 points) led the way in double figures for Dan River.

“They are the vital components to our team because of their ability to work hand-in-hand and shoot the ball,” Dan River coach Deauti Harris said. “But we really struggled the whole night.”

For Altavista, it was all about trying to put the Wildcats away early, something they were unable to do last week.

“We got off to a better start [tonight], which certainly helped us confidence-wise,” Spencer said. “We were more aggressive to the ball … and I think we played a little harder and more physical than we did last week.”

Dan River (14-8, 10-4) stepped up its defense in the third quarter, pressing the Colonels and forcing several backcourt turnovers.

But the Wildcats struggled on offense and were plagued by several long, scoreless draughts.

When Dews sunk a 3 at the 4:42 mark of the third quarter, her team went on a 9-0 run that lasted until a late free throw by Stephens.

Kayla Donigan, Altavista’s lone senior, said her team improved in several categories since last week.

“We had to work on rebounding and press break, and looking for things that were open that we missed last time,” she said.

Dan River was unable to contain Dews, whose versatility allowed her to score from beyond the arc and battle in the paint for points. The Wildcats also committed 22 turnovers in the first half alone and Altavista capitalized on many of those mistakes.

“Tonight, we weren’t ourselves,” Harris said. “We didn’t play to our full potential.”

Altavista will face Chatham, a 52-42 winner over Gretna in Tuesday’s Division 2 final, in Friday’s championship game. The two schools split their regular-season matchups. While the Colonels narrowly defeated Chatham by three in the first meeting, the Cavaliers returned the favor with a 47-35 win on Jan. 27.

“We wanted to play Chatham again because we lost to them last time,” Kayla Donigan said. “We do well when we play together. If we work harder in practice, we can get the win.”

Chatham 52, Gretna 42

Chatham held Gretna to 15 first-half points and built on its lead in the third quarter as the Cavaliers advanced to the Dogwood District tournament championship game with a 52-42 victory Tuesday night in Chatham.

Beth Ann Coder led the Cavaliers (19-3, No. 8 AP) with 14 points and 18 rebounds (10 offensive rebounds). The senior forward was one of five Chatham players to record at least seven rebounds and the Cavaliers finished with 59 total rebounds.

Ebony Calloway led Gretna with 16 points and Jessica Myers added 14 points for the Hawks (10-12).