Bristol Herald Courier | Tim Hayes | Photo Credit: BHC
GRUNDY, Va. – Misty Davis Miller achieved a milestone, secured another first-place memento for the crowded trophy case and once again has her Honaker Tigers marching into March with major momentum.
Miller recorded her 300th head-coaching win on Saturday as Honaker controlled the second half in a 51-42 victory over the Grundy Golden Wave in the finals of the Region 1D girls basketball tournament.
Honaker (22-5) won regional gold for the second straight year and hosts defending state champ George Wythe (21-5) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the VHSL Class 1 state quarterfinals.
For Miller, Saturday marked another postseason conquest.
She has won six regional titles and three state championships since taking over at her alma mater prior to the 2012-13 season.
Honaker was 83-19 during her four seasons playing point guard for the Tigers – she’s a 1997 graduate of the Russell County School – with two state tournament appearances.
That’s a lot of Ws.
“I thank God for the opportunity to be a part of Honaker basketball as a player and now as a coach,” Miller said. “He’s blessed me with some great players and the credit goes to the girls I’ve had throughout the years. They’ve worked hard and fought hard.”
Honaker had a fight on its hands Saturday as the Tigers fell behind 23-22 at halftime.
The message Miller delivered to her team was simple.
“I told them we had 16 minutes that was standing between us and winning that region championship," Miller said. "They stepped up and came out and played with the fire I challenged them to do at halftime. Super proud of ‘em.”
While Miller got win No. 300, it seemed like sophomore Julianna “JuJu” Farmer made about 300 good plays over the course of Honaker’s three regional tournament games.
HONAKER (52) – Musick 1 1-2 3, Rose 0 4-6 4, C. Keene 3 2-4 9, Whaley 3 3-6 10, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Farmer 6 8-10 23, Lowe 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 18-28 52.
GRUNDY (41) – D. Armendariz 2 0-0 4, Bostic 3 0-0 6, Brown 0 2-4 2, Belcher 3 0-2 6, Vencill 5 0-0 12, Rasnake 1 0-0 2, Bell 3 0-0 9. Totals 17 2-10 41.
Honaker 10 12 19 11—52
Grundy 11 12 7 11—41
3-point goals – Honaker 6 (Farmer 3, C. Keene, Whaley, Lowe), Grundy 5 (Bell 3, Vencill 2). Total fouls – Honaker 12, Grundy 23. Fouled out – D. Armendariz. Technicals – none.