A team needs to take care of the ball, run an offense well and play good defense to win a state title. Freedom did these things, but for Lee, it was a tale of missed opportunities.

Robert E. Lee walked off the court of the Siegel Center in Richmond heartbroken, thinking of the 58-33 loss it suffered on the biggest stage the Lee Ladies had seen.

RICHMOND — Saturday’s Group AA, Division 3 girls state championship game was decided in the first quarter.

With a second state championship ring soon to be placed on her finger, Buffalo Gap’s Holly Morgan is more than ready to see what happens in the future. Morgan is only a junior and has helped lead the Bison to two back-to-back Group A, Division 1 titles.

RICHMOND –Buffalo Gap cruised past Bland County 50-40 to defend its Group A, Division 1 title.

Can you imagine a better way for your high school basketball career to end? Don’t think so.

Even with key player Sara Lamneck on the bench for half of the game, Buffalo Gap still pulled away with a 56-47 win Thursday, sending the Bison into the Group A, Division1 championship game to defend their title.

You know a lot about Buffalo Gap’s girls basketball team. So we shan’t insult your intelligence. So don’t look for us to laud this team’s aggressive defense or hard-nosed play under the rim. No sir. No way. No how. This you know already.

Every now and then a basketball game lives up to the hype — and that was clearly the case Thursday morning when Buffalo Gap matched up against Franklin in a Group A, Division 1 semifinal game. Each are well-coached high school teams and last met in the 2008 state finals, where the Bison claimed the title with a convincing 83-66 victory.

RICHMOND – Buffalo Gap pushed by Franklin with a 56-47 win on Thursday in the semifinal round of the Group A, Division 1 tournament.

Leaning forward in his chair, he pondered the question for all of a second. Then Jeremy Hartman pulled his body forward, put his hands on the table in the Siegel Center media room, sighed, and let it out.

Buffalo Gap coach Chad Coffey may not share his entire sports literary collection, but he has taken excerpts from the pages of successful coaches to teach his team some lessons.

In the first three quarters, the Hubble telescope would have been hard pressed to find R.E. Lee’s Daquaa Scott.

“Yeah,“ the Lee sophomore said with an embarrassed smile. “I wasn’t doing that good for the first three quarters.“

They were underestimated. They were overlooked, until they took the court this season.

RICHMOND — A youth-fueled Robert E. Lee girls basketball team used its speed and spunk to defeat Lord Botetourt 55-49 in the Group AA, Division 3 semifinals Tuesday at VCU’s Siegel Center in Richmond.