Notes: James River girls winning for first time in decade

James River girls improving

Warren Kempf inherited a James River program that hadn't had a winning season since 2002 and hadn't had double-digit wins in the Dominion District since former coach Dean Lakey led the Rapids to a 12-2 district record in 2000.

"It's been a good year," Kempf said. "We have a good group of girls, and a lot of good things have happened."

The 2011-12 edition of the Rapids enters today's action with a 15-6 overall record and a 9-6 mark in the district, which is swelling the confidence for the girls in purple and green.

"I definitely think we've gotten better as we've gone along," he said. "Not a lot of our girls had varsity experience. As we've gone along, they've gotten a lot more comfortable with everything."

The Rapids have lost to No. 2 L.C. Bird, No. 3 Monacan and No. 4 Cosby, but the losses were the kind Kempf thinks will benefit his team in the long run.

"We're gaining confidence," he said. "We played Monacan real tough last week. We played Bird tough early in the year and we were able to play Cosby tough. We haven't won a lot of those games, but we've just gained some confidence there."

Kempf believes his team is carrying his preseason message to heart after playing the class of the Dominion District tough.

"I talked to them in the beginning of the year about being good and winning and making the region tournament," he said. "But, being able to play these tough teams close, there was a switch there that they believed they could do this and be one of the better teams in the district."

Tines scores 500th point for Vikings

On Tuesday night, Kristen Tines scored her 500th point for the Thomas Jefferson Vikings. The milestone came in an 11-point effort against No. 5 Patrick Henry, which won 51-33.

Tines has proved to be a "bright spot of the program in a rebuilding season," according to Thomas Jefferson coach Bo Hobbs.

"She's a class act," he said. "A perfect example of what a student-athlete should be."

Tines leads the Vikings (4-16, 2-13 Colonial) with 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

"She's our only senior," he said. "She's at every practice and working hard."

Tines also is a standout volleyball and soccer player for the Vikings.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Huguenot playing well against ranked teams

Huguenot has found success against ranked teams the past month. The Falcons beat Manchester, Thomas Jefferson and Cosby, all ranked in the T-D Top 10 at the time of the games.

While Huguenot has lost twice to top-10 teams, both were by slim margins. No. 4 L.C. Bird escaped with a 67-64 win, and No. 9 Cosby got revenge with a 74-70 win Monday.

Falcons coach Bo Jones says his team has peaked at the right time.

"Teams know when you're playing Huguenot, you've got to bring your A game," he said.

Jones says free throw shooting has had a lot to do with his team's success, as it has been shooting better from the line lately. But it didn't happen in the loss to Cosby, when the Falcons made only 5 of 11.

ELSEWHERE

• Tickets for tonight's game between Mills Godwin and Douglas Freeman will be on sale at both schools today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Only Henrico County passes from the two schools will be accepted. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. at Freeman.

• Meadowbrook will host its annual football coaching clinic Feb. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The cost is $30 prepaid and $40 at the door.

• Willett Mullican Blalock was inducted into the Saint Gertrude hall of fame. Blalock coached field hockey, basketball, tennis and golf from 1967 to 1975. She won the state Catholic championship in basketball from 1973-75. She never had a losing season in any sport.

• Infielders Connar Bastaich (Midlothian) and Adam Meeker (Cosby) have committed to play baseball at Potomac State.

Billy Fellin and Eric Kolenich