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The Atlee Lady Raiders were expecting an especially tough game when they traveled to Sandston last Wednesday night to face Highland Springs for the third time this season. The Raiders, ranked No. 4 in the latest TD-Poll, had narrowly won their two previous meetings with the Springers and were expecting more of the same.

  However, an emotionless Springer start contributed to the patented Highland Springs (3-3 Capital, 7-7) attack not showing up until midway through the fourth quarter and allowed Atlee (6-0, 12-3) to unexpectedly breeze to a 62-43 win.
 
  Ironically, it was Atlee head coach Anna Prillaman who was worried about her team’s mental approach prior to the contest. “I was concerned at the beginning about our emotion level but my girls don’t get excited about much and they’re just staying focused,” she said. “But it seemed like Highland Springs…it didn’t seem like they were that into it tonight. I know they’re capable of playing us well if not beating us but it certainly wasn’t there tonight.”

  Highland Springs head coach Franklin Harris was equally befuddled by his team’s lackadaisical approach to the game. “Flat’s an understatement,” he said. “I’m more disappointed in them coming up for a big ball game like this, that we needed, and the effort that we put out.”

  Atlee rode a hot hand of guard Taylor Henderson racing out to an 8-0 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the contest. By the end of the first quarter the Raiders led 15-7 and Henderson had scored seven points.

  For their part, the Springers were moving the ball well against the Atlee defense to get the shots they wanted. However when the shots did not fall it only contributed to their emotional lull. “We didn’t take bad shots,” Harris said. “We basically got what we wanted they just weren’t falling and when you’re a little inexperienced at a couple of spots you hang your head. You get dejected to where when you’ve been through it and you’ve been through that battle, you’re used to fighting and clawing, you don’t worry if the next shots going in.”

  Highland Springs briefly threatened in the second, twice trimming the lead to six then seven before Henderson and Richelle Price (20 points, 9 rebounds) went to work for Atlee. The pair combined for a 10-2 Raider run that pushed Atlee ahead 25-11 with 2:15 in the half.

  The two teams headed for the locker room with Atlee doubling up the Springers 30-15, In the half Henderson scored 13 of her 18 points (four, 3-pointers), making up for a slow shooting the night before in the Raiders win over No. 6 Henrico.

  “Taylor Henderson was very cold last night,” Prillaman said. “I think she was 0-7 from 3-point range and then tonight I don’t know if she missed from 3-point range. She’s capable of going off.” 

  In the third, Atlee’s lead continued to swell and they held a 35-15 advantage before the Springers could respond with a single point.

  The fourth quarter brought more of the same and Atlee reached its largest margin of the game with 5:59 to play when Sydney Henderson (9 assists) dished to Britt Hill (14 points) for a reverse layup and a 51-27 lead.

  But with five-and-a-half minutes remaining, Highland Springs suddenly found the fire it had been searching for all night when Harris, in his first year with the Springers, went with a small-quick squad of players he was familiar with; Jazzman Dabney (11 points, five steals), Ty Jefferies (4 steals), Kyra Coleman (11 points, 9 rebounds), Qunisha Cannon (7 rebounds) and Linesha Tinsley.  “I took my centers out,” he said. “I went with girls who have played AAU for me, because most of these girls have played AAU since they were 12. I went small with them and went man-to-man and told them just play aggressive and let it fall where it may, play your passing lanes and just go play.”

  The result was an aggressive attack that produced multiple steals against the Raiders. “I just went with that mixture and said lets roll it one time and see what happens and that’s what it did for us,” Harris said. “I should have done it sooner.”

  The freshman Dabney got things rolling for the Springer offense by single-handedly outscoring Atlee 8-2 over a :45 stretch, including a pair of nothing-but-net threes to trim the Raiders’ lead to 54-35.

  Coleman went one-for-two from the line and Tinsley scored on a layup to move the Springers within 54-38 with four minutes to play. Meanwhile the Springer defense began forcing turnovers and Atlee went over two minutes without scoring.

  The Springer run did not come as a surprise to Prillaman. “I told (my team) at halftime (the Springers) were going to have to pick up the pace of the game and they certainly did a little bit,” she said. “But I also think we started to get a little lethargic with our press-breaker and not focusing.”

  The result was that during what would have been mop-up time for the Raiders, the Atlee starters remained on the floor. “It wasn’t necessarily a sense of panic but maybe just a sense of urgency,” Prillaman said. “We needed to make sure this game wasn’t going to get within 10 because I’ve seen crazy things happen where teams can come back from 20 points in three minutes. So we just needed to make sure, slow things down a little bit, keep our composure and make sure the Highland Springs bench, the fans and all that ruckus that was going on, not get into our heads.”

  With three minutes left in the game, Atlee regained control and outscored the Springers 10-5 down the stretch to create the final margin.

  Though his team came up on the short end of the scoreboard for the third time this season, Harris said there are a lot of similarities between his Springers and Atlee. “The biggest difference between us and them is the people that they count on are experienced,” he said. “The ones that I count on have played but not in big ball games and they’re underclassmen. So, getting them used to playing and changing their attitude, that’s the tough part. That’s the biggest challenge. We’ve got talent. We’ve got big athletic basketball players it’s just getting that mindset changed down here to where they come play hard every time they’re on the floor.”

  For Prillaman, the win added to a productive week after the Raiders’ disappointing performance in a 20-point loss at Princess Ann on Saturday. “They’re a very good basketball team,” she said of the beach school that is perennially among the state’s best. “But we did not play very well at all.”
  However, the coach believes her Raiders have the ability to make a state-wide impact as the season progresses. “I really do believe this team if we play to our potential has the ability to beat anyone in the state and Princess Ann was not an exception,” she said. 

ATLEE (6-0 Capital, 12-3) Townes 0, Hill 14, Taylor 0, Spiers 0, S. Henderson 4, T. Henderson 18, Price 20, Ashcraft 4, Dandridge 0, Eberle 2. Totals 25 6-10 62.
HIGHLAND SPRINGS (3-3, 7-7) Jones 0, Jefferies 7, Taylor 0, Jenkins 0, McCullough 0, Hart 2, McKay 0, McCrae 6, Coleman 11, Cannon 4, Tinsley 2, Ross 0, Dabney 11. Totals 15 10-18 43.
Atlee .......................... 15 15 13 19 — 62
Highland Springs….. 7   8   9 19 — 43
3-point goals: A — T. Henderson 4, Price, Hill. HS —Dabney 2, Jefferies.