In front of a nearly packed crowd at Manchester High School excitement filled the air, as Lloyd C Bird (26-2) and Hampton (24-3) took the floor in the quarterfinal game of the AAA Girls State Tournament. This game would prove to be the final game for the Skyhawks, as the first quarter indicated the pace for the game.

Hampton won the opening tip off and Toia Johnson controlled the ball. Hampton started the game with a "four corners" type offense, stalling the ball as LC Bird passively sat back in a zone defense. After 1:12 minutes of play, Hampton fed the ball into their big girl, 6’3, 205 Allisha Morris (see left), and she commited her first offensive foul. Bird pushed the ball up the court and attempted a three pointer courtesy of Tiffany West, but the shot fell short. With the rebound, Hampton came back up the floor just to have their shot blocked by Sonia Fenner of Bird. This didn’t affect Hampton, as they were able to get the ball back and score the first points of the game as Celanese Bozeman knocked (pictured right) down a 3 pointer from the right side of the court. This provided an end to the scoring drought at the 5:46 mark of the 1st quarter. Scoring continued to be scarce throughout the first quarter, as the Lady Crabbers were able to knock down another 3 pointer with 19 seconds left in the quarter and held Bird to zero points at the end of one quarter of play.

Hampton continued jumping out on the guards of LC Bird, making it very difficult to get off any clear jump shots from the outside. Coach Chuck Tester of Bird gave Hampton all the credit for slowing the pace through their defensive ability. Tester also said, “We didn’t challenge them very well offensively. We were too passive and just took outside shots.” Hampton’s defense typically allowed Bird only one opportunity to score each time down the court. Hampton held Bird to just 11 of 39 from the field. Typically, no team can win by shooting 28% from the floor for the game. This was the first time all year that Bird’s stars Ashley Cox and Tiffany West were contained throughout the entire game. Each scored only 5 points apiece. Cox has been averaging 14 points a game and West 10 points per game.

Though Bird showed signs of a comeback by getting several steals and pushing Allisha Morris into foul trouble. She received her 4th foul with 6:57 left in the game. Hampton’s decision to speed up the pace allowed Bird to get back within 3 points. As Bird gained ground, Coach David Six, of Hampton, slowed down the tempo of the game. Three points would be the closest Bird would get to the Crabbers. Sharon Earp (pictured left) also took control for Hampton. Shavon Earp went 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free throw line; she also added a 3 pointer, as she scored a game high 16 points. Earp was the overall leader for Hampton as she grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and stole the ball 2 times for Hampton. By defeating Skyhawks, the Crabbers will advance to the Semi-finals in Lynchburg to play George Washington of Danville.