Menchville, Norview on collision course again
For a third straight year, teams to play in region title game
NORFOLK — Menchville and Norview will play a third consecutive season for a girls basketball region title. That, of course, means both will advance to the state tournament for the third season in a row.
No. 1 seed Menchville made easy work of Peninsula District and Newport News rival and No. 4 Woodside, winning their Class 5 Region B semifinal 72-23 at Norfolk State University’s Echols Hall. No. 3 Norview was given a significantly more stern challenge in the second semifinal at NSU, but pulled away in the second half to beat No. 7 King’s Fork 52-44.
The Monarchs (22-2) and Pilots (18-5) return to Echols Hall at 6 p.m. today for the region championship game, which will determine which team plays its Class 5 state quarterfinal closer to home. Norview will be looking to avenge consecutive region final losses to the Monarchs, who also won their state semifinal meeting in overtime on the way to the 2022 Class 5 championship.
“Hopefully, this time will be better on our part,” Norview coach Jonathan Wilson said. “We’re going to compete and we want some kind of chip on our shoulder, but ultimately we want to win that next game at the state level.”
The Pilots’ victory ended the Bulldogs’ string of five consecutive state tournament appearances. All of them came in Class 4, where the Bulldogs were state champions in 2022, and they did not let the streak end without a fight against the favored Pilots (18-5).
Rylie Hite (11 points) made three 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Bulldogs trailed only 22-21 at halftime. But an upset in this game was never going to be easy for the Bulldogs because Norview forced them into 24 turnovers.
The turning point in the game came at the start of the second half, when Kiyah Fitchett (15 points) and Taylor Christful did the scoring in a six-point run that gave the Pilots a 28-21 lead and control they never relinquished. Imani Clemons (17 points) and Imani Watson (12 points) led several surges for the Bulldogs (13-11), but they could not get closer than five points.
Menchville senior Cyriah Griffin sparked the defense that led to 46 points off of turnovers — or double what the Wolverines (15-8) managed to score. The Monarchs forced 41 turnovers, an incredible 32 of them on steals.
Griffin, a VCU recruit, had 11 thefts and also led the way with 25 points. Nevaeh Reid (10 points) and Ayame Colson (10 points) were also in double figures as the Monarchs’ state tournament place was never in doubt.
“That’s three years in a row and we hadn’t been there before,” Adrian Webb said, referring to his first six seasons as Menchville’s coach. “Getting there is a blessing to maintain through the year and injuries.
“Cyriah is getting more focused as we get into this playoff time.”
Zaria Richmond’s 14 points led Woodside. Wolverines coach Gregg Brooks expressed pride in his team’s season.
“Our two juniors, Zaria Richmond and Tiyhana Veal-Barber, played big for us every game this year,” he said. “We had a lot of freshmen and sophomores step up, and we fought through adversity to win a lot of games.”