The Varina Blue Devils earned their 21st victory of the season Tuesday night and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Central Region tournament because they excelled in several important phases of their game.
Not every phase, but enough to get the job done.
Playing on the Glenn Rudacille Court, coach Becky Snow's crew defeated visiting Deep Run 43-25.
While each team's defense created havoc at times for the other's offense, it was Varina's speed, quickness, rebounding superiority, and ability to fend off the plucky Wildcats' fourth-quarter challenge that ensured the win.
"This is our third time in a row going to the regionals, but the first time we've made it past the first round," Snow said. "Our girls worked very hard for this. This is huge for us."
Varina led 13-10 after the first quarter, went ahead 19-14 midway through the second, then made four turnovers just before the half and carried a 21-20 lead into the locker room.
The Blue Devils opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run and took their largest advantage (33-22) at 2:28 on Micha Cox's 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key.
Trailing 35-27 entering the fourth, the Wildcats closed to 35-33 at 5:19 by coupling five Varina turnovers with two buckets off inside moves and a pair of free throws by point guard Kelly Siewers.
"We made bad turnovers like traveling, double-dribbling," said Blue Devils guard Mia Fitts. "They were self-induced. We just weren't focused.
"We'll forget about it and move on. You can't go back to the past. You just don't make the same mistakes."
Try as they might, the Wildcats, now pressing with impunity from a 1-2-1-1 alignment, could get no closer.
"They didn't want us to win," said Varina's Ashley Logan. "It was a battle. We just played smart and made our shots."
Using a 2-3 zone, which had replaced their man-to-man after the break, the Blue Devils limited the Wildcats to 0-for-5 shooting, created six turnovers, and outscored them 8-0 the rest of the way.
"We passed the ball, moved the ball, made them work," added Fitts, a 5-foot-7 junior. "In practice, we run a lot. If we keep running the floor, we get easy buckets."
Varina hit 17 of 49 field goal attempts and just 6 of 15 free throws. It had 25 turnovers.
Deep Run shot 12 for 54 from the floor, 11 for 17 from the line and turned the ball over 16 times.
The Blue Devils controlled the boards 58-30, and that was the difference.
"Rebounding was a huge key," Snow said. "Our defense and our rebounding help our offense.
"We wanted to push the ball, and rebounding starts our running.
"As soon as we get running, everyone feels comfortable."
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