Highland Springs Too Much for West Springfield at State Quarterfinals

RICHMOND—'s senior trio of Logan Battle, April Robinson and Jordan Miller advanced to the VHSL Class AAA tournament for the third year in a row, but saw their storied careers come to an end Friday night in the opening round at Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center in Richmond.

Highland Springs, a local school and the Central Region champion, proved too fast and aggressive for the Spartans. The Springers slashed to the basket and got in front of West Springfield's passes, building a 12-point lead before ultimately winning 53-46.

"We couldn't stop them on defense," said Battle, who led all scorers with 23 points. 

The Spartans struggled on offense, too, shooting just 33 percent (17-for-51) in the game, with only a pair of 3-pointers from Robinson (8 points).

“If you can shoot the ball, they have to cover both inside and outside,” Robinson said. “We didn’t make them do that.”

Coach Bill Gibson said the plan was to pound the ball inside to the tall and agile Battle, who would use her moves against the shorter Springers. But the Spartans never had the ball in their hands long enough to take advantage of the mismatch.

Battle got her shots, going 9-of-17; the problem was the rest of the team only accounted for eight other field goals. The Spartans, who held a 15-10 lead after the first quarter, fell apart in the second, only making two field goals in the period, both inside the final 75 seconds. By then, Highland Springs had pulled ahead, 23-14, after Brianna Justice nailed a 3-pointer in the midst of four straight West Springfield turnovers.

The Springers scored 22 points off turnovers, 11 after offensive rebounds and their scoring was more balanced, with five players posting nine or more points.

“On defense, if you allow two or three shots, you can’t win games like that,” said Gibson.

Battle made it a two-point game early in the third quarter when she rebounded a missed Miller shot to make it 26-24, but Kermisha Clark (11 points) hit her lone 3-pointer to put the Springers back up by five. Battle cut it to four at 38-34 early in the fourth quarter, but Clark was there again with four unanswered points.

Miller, normally a dead-eye shooter from 3-point range, went 0-for-4 and seemed to lose confidence in her outside shot late in the game, choosing to pass inside to the tightly guarded Battle. Robinson only tried three 3-pointers in the second half—missing them all—despite hitting two of four in the first half.

With Battle holding back tears during a postgame press conference, the Spartans reviewed four amazingly successful seasons, which included the school’s best run since a pair of state championships powered by WNBA and U.S. National Team star Kara Lawson in 1997 and 1999.

“All four years have been amazing. We’ve learned and grown so much. This was special for the four seniors (including Emily Esau),” Battle said. “This year it really felt like a family. I love our team so much.”