RIVALRY RENEWED: Dan River upends former district foe Martinsville

Published: January 8, 2009

RINGGOLD — It’s been nearly two years since Dan River last played in the Piedmont District. But beating one of their former rivals still carries special meaning for the Wildcats.

Senior forward Jasmine Walker recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Dan River pulled away for a 49-35 victory over Martinsville on Wednesday night. The Wildcats led throughout, but were plagued by turnovers and poor free throw shooting before putting the game out of reach with a 16-4 run early in the fourth quarter.

“Tonight’s game was important,” Walker said, “because we came from their district, so to beat them shows that we’re still able to keep up with the competition, even though we’re not in their district. But tonight’s game really showed us what we need to work on, but we’re ready for Friday’s game (against Altavista).”

Dan River (4-7) opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from Mhy’keah Baez and never looked back. But the Bulldogs (0-13) remained within striking distance for most of the game as the Wildcats converted just 12-of-31 attempts at the line. Dan River missed its first seven shots from the charity stripe and was just 7-of-17 in the first half.

Martinsville, meanwhile, attempted just four free throws all night, making two. The Bulldogs did manage to come up with 21 steals, including seven by Alisha Hairston and five from Delveta Hairston.

Dan River took a 33-26 lead into the final period before finally getting its transition game on track and creating some breathing room. The Wildcats held their largest advantage at 49-30 with just under three minutes remaining.

“We’re a team, I think we like to play under pressure,” Walker said. “And I think that’s how it is. We knew they were creeping back, but once we saw that, we started looking for the passes and just going, hitting it and doing what we had to do to win.”

Glass scored 10 points and Dijonna Morris chipped in with eight. Delveta Hairston paced the Bulldogs with 10.

The Wildcats dominated the glass, finishing with a 55-29 rebounding edge. Baez joined Walker with 11 boards and Deidra Glass added eight.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Dan River coach Deauti Harris said. “We just started in the district. We’re trying to get our groove back.”