Delapp delight

 Virginia High senior Chelsea Delapp figured she had three options while making a wild charge to the basket late in Friday’s thriller against Clinch Mountain District rival Gate City.

“I knew that I was either going to make the shot, miss the shot or get fouled,” Delapp said. “I did the best I could.”

Somehow, the 5-foot-10 senior banked in a game-tying jumper from just inside the foul line.

Two overtime sessions and several clutch hoops later from Delapp, the VHS Bearcats escaped with a 73-68 decision over the Blue Devils.

“Hitting that basket to send the game into overtime was definitely an adrenalin rush,” Delapp said.

Fueled by a potent mix of energy, instinct and raw talent, Delapp finished with 33 points along with a school record 24 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

“I said earlier this week that Chelsea is a special player, and she showed it again,” VHS coach Mike Goforth said. “Chelsea’s game is not always pretty, but she plays super hard in every game.”

Behind the aggressive work of Morgan Gose (25 points) and Autumn Richards (14 points), Gate City built a 34-25 lead with 5:48 left in the third quarter.

Despite facing multiple defenders, Delapp simply took over in the final minutes.

Following a Morgan Edwards free throw that put GC up 52-50 with eight seconds left, Delapp weaved through the Blue Devils defense to hit her highlight-reel hoop that forced overtime. Players and fans from both teams appeared shocked.

“I still can’t believe Delapp hit that shot,” Goforth said. “All the people that paid five dollars to get in this game really got their money’s worth.”

Both teams appeared to gain control in the two extra sessions. But VHS finally pulled away in the final minute, thanks in large part to a pair of crisp entry passes from Delapp to Kelsey Nave.

“We made good plays and bad plays, but all of my girls stepped up when needed it,” Goforth said. “Gate City has a real good team and we didn’t expect anything less than this.”

The Bearcats (11-2, 3-0) employed a zone defense in the first quarter before switching back to their more traditional man-to-man after the Blue Devils had success on the boards.

Gate City finished the game with just five players. Taylor Evans and Richards both fouled out in overtime while Morgan Gose suffered an ankle injury with 1:41 left in the second overtime session.

“We battled all night,” GC coach Kelly Houseright said. “We didn’t get any calls toward the end of the game and we made some bonehead plays, but you what you can do when you have freshmen and sophomores out there. We had our opportunities.”

GC (5-9, 2-1) entered the game with two starters sidelined due to injuries.

“We’re the walking wounded right now,” Houseright said.

Morgan Whittemore supplied nine points and five rebounds for VHS while Teonna Austin added six points, three assists, three steals and steady defense.

While the situation appeared grim for VHS at several junctures, the VHS coach never lost confidence in his magic-maker who grabbed 21 rebounds against John Battle on Tuesday.

“You always want the ball in the hands of your best player. Chelsea came through,” Goforth said.

The VHS boys and girls travel to CMD rival Lee tonight for makeup games.

BOYS

Gate City 69, Virginia High 66

The combination of Luke Ervin (28 points) and 6-foot-5 senior Austen Arnold (25 points) made the difference as the Blue Devils improved to 3-0 in the CMD.

Gate City (11-2) took a 17-11 lead with 1:57 left in the opening quarter as Ervin hit his second 3-pointer. That margin expanded to 35-24 with 3:05 left in the first half. Ervin had 18 of those 35 points, opening room for the athletic Arnold to roam.

“I love playing with Luke,” Arnold said. “When he’s shooting good, it makes the defense spread out and that opens up that paint. And I love it down there.”

After trailing 41-34 at halftime, VHS (12-3, 2-1) closed to within 41-39 at the 6:30 mark of the third. Ignited by another acrobatic hoop from Arnold, GC carved out a 52-41 lead just five minutes later.

VHS rallied once again, taking a 56-55 lead with 5:43 left in the game on a Matt Kerlee 3-pointer.

The Bearcats finished with 10 3-pointers, including five by point guard Derek Lee (19 points) and four from Kerlee (14 points). Nick Howard added 11 points.

VHS had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer but a 3-point attempt fell short.

“We wanted to keep the tempo up but we made some turnovers in the process and that let [Virginia High] back in the game,” Arnold said. “Every team makes runs. You just have to withstand it.”

Arby’s Slam Dunk champion Andy Arnold fouled out with 4:22 left for GC.

The intense game, which was played before a huge and loud crowd, featured 42 fouls.

“I love playing coming into a gym somewhere and being hated basically. That’s fun,” Austen Arnold said.

Bearcat coach Wayne Rasnick was still talking to his team at press time late Friday night.

agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544