J.I. Burton Blows Out Powell Valley

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
BIG STONE GAP, Va. – Friday night’s matchup between the Powell Valley and John I. Burton girl’s basketball teams featured two storylines worth examining.

First, the winner of the game would take the early lead in the race to the Lonesome Pine District regular-season championship. Second, it showcased two of the district’s most dominant inside players going head-to-head.

But by the end of the first quarter the first storyline had been decided, and the second one didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Burton’s Ra‘Shelle Miller, the LPD’s leading scorer, racked up 26 points and 12 rebounds in the Lady Raiders’ 65-41 blowout victory over Powell Valley.

Her front-court nemesis, Powell Valley’s Tasha Trent, did almost as well. Trent picked up 22 points and 11 rebounds. The difference was that Miller got a little help from her friends, while Trent did not.

The Lady Raiders came out of the gates smoking on both offense and defense.

Iris Hill, Miller’s sister, scored 11 of her 12 points in the first quarter (nine from 3-pointers) to lead Burton’s early offensive.

“I was feeling it,” Hill said. “But we play as a team, that’s all I can say.”

At least in the first quarter, that was true.

Three other Lady Raiders scored at least four points in the first quarter, and by the time the game’s first eight minutes had run out, Burton’s side of the scoreboard read 25.

The Lady Raiders’ defense was almost as good.

In the first quarter, Burton’s defense forced the Lady Vikings into seven turnovers and limited Powell Valley to just four points.

Burton’s dominance stretched into the second quarter, and by the time halftime came the Vikings were in a 35-10 hole.

“I don’t know if we could have played any better to start the game,” Burton coach Mike Goforth said. “We’ve got confidence. We’re 15-1 and 5-0 in the conference, and confidence is the key. That first half was probably the best half these girls have ever played.”

With the game decided by halftime, all that remained was for Miller to exert her own dominance and show the jam-packed Powell Valley High School gym who the best post player in the LPD is.

Mixing back-to-the-basket ballet moves with slashing drives, and adding a bit of 3-point marksmanship, the 5-foot-10 sophomore scored 16 points after halftime to dash any hopes of a Powell Valley comeback.

Trent kept pace with Miller the entire second half, scoring ten of her own in the third quarter alone, but no other Lady Viking finished the game with more than seven points.

“[Trent and I] have played together for awhile,” Miller said. “It made me strive harder to carry my team, to try and be a leader for them.”

With the win, Burton now owns a two-game lead over second-place Powell Valley. Goforth said he won’t let his players rest on their hard-earned cushion.

“I may throw my shoe at them,” Goforth said, when asked about motivating his front-running team. “I don’t think I’ll have to. It’s been a long time since John I. Burton basketball has won a championship and these girls have stuck with me and they really want to win it.”

BURTON (65) – Hensley 2, M. Stallard 4, Woods 2, Iris Hill 12, Brianna Stallard 13, Ra’Shelle Woods 26, Hamilton 4, James 2.
POWELL VALLEY (41) – Holdway 2, E. Long 1, Tasha Trent 22, Bishop 5, Roark 7, Winstead 2, Schoolcraft 2.
Burton 25 10 17 13–65
Powell Valley 4 6 14 17–41
3-point goals – Burton 5 (Hill 3, Woods 2); Powell Valley 1 (Roark).

BOYS
Powell Valley 61, John I. Burton 55

It wasn’t easy, and it definitely wasn’t pretty, but by the time all the turnovers were collected and counted, the Vikings were still No. 1 in the LPD.

Although the Vikings (8-5, 4-1) were forced into 22 turnovers, Tyler Garrison and Jordan Martin combined to make five of Powell Valley’s last six free throws, and extinguish any chance of a Raider comeback.

Garrison and Martin scored 15 points apiece for Powell Valley.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Powell Valley coach Zack Moore said. “We had a lot of unforced turnovers that could’ve cost us the ball game. But I thought our defense was really, really good and we rebounded the ball pretty good and when you do those things you give yourself a chance to win the game.”

Powell Valley did hold a slight rebounding edge (28-22), but with the Raiders’ Timmy Goins and Devin Talley scoring 18 and 13 points, respectively, the Vikings’ victory was made possible by a quiet night from Burton’s third musketeer, Jaycob Coleman.

And a quiet night from Jaycob Coleman was made possible by Ryan Hubbard.

Hubbard, a 6-foot-3 guard, used his length and quickness to keep the 6-foot-1 Coleman from getting into the lane where his athleticism produces 18.71 ppg.

“Ryan’s done a good job defensively all year,” Moore said. “We ask him to guard a lot of people … he did a heck of a job tonight.”

Coleman finished Friday night’s game with nine points, though he did collect 11 rebounds.

For Burton (4-9, 2-3) it was another close district loss in an ever-shortening LPD schedule.

“We’ve played them all pretty even,” Raiders’ coach Stan Wilson said. “At some point in the season you’ve got to quit using youth as an excuse.”

BURTON (55) – Timmy Goins 18, Coleman 9, Deaton 3, Hunnicutt 2, Devin Talley 13, Daniels 6, Large 4.
POWELL VALLEY (61) – Tyler Garrison 15, Hubbard 8, Jordan Martin 15, Holcomb 2, Cantrell 8, Sam Vaughan 11, Baker 2).
Burton 7 15 14 19–55
Powell Valley 14 16 12 19–61
3-point goals – Burton 4 (Goins 4); Powell Valley 3 (Hubbard 2, Garrison).