STATE EXTRA: Back-to-back Buffalo Gap

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

The Bison have now won back-to-back state titles, something that hasn’t happened since Floyd County beat Gap in the 1993 and 1994 title games.

Gap got a hold of the lead early with its infamous inside-out offense. The giants that the Bears sported in their post positions didn’t pose any threat to the Bison.

“[Bland’s] height was definitely a change from Franklin,” said Buffalo Gap senior forward Sara Lamneck. “We handled the pressure really well though. Whenever they would collapse on us, we would kick it out to the perimeter. Our offense just clicked today.”

Gap’s defense was pretty impenetrable — Bland shot just 17 percent in the first quarter compared to Gap’s 58 percent.

Bland started out in a man defense against Gap but quickly made a change to a 2-3 zone when Lamneck racked up points underneath.

The first ended with the Bison leading 17-5.

“The girls made sure that the shot selection was there,” Buffalo Gap coach Chad Coffey said. “Sara did a good job under the basket. If it wasn’t there for her than she would kick it out to the perimeter.”

The Bison kept a steady pace throughout the first half, but the Bears came out in the second quarter better prepared.

“[Gap’s] speed and strength surprised me,” Bland County coach Jason Lambert said. “We missed a couple of good looks early and in a championship game you have to make the open shots.”

Bland’s Laurel Hankins came out on fire, scoring eight of the 12 points in the second quarter single handedly. Gap came in with the same enthusiasm as the previous quarter and posted a score of 31-17.

“We weren’t going to give up when we made it this far,” Buffalo Gap junior guard Holly Morgan said. “It wasn’t easy, but I guess it looked easy.”

“We came out playing our game,” Buffalo Gap senior guard Renee Burford said in response.

Most teams increase their shooting percentage as the game goes on, but that wasn’t the case for Gap. The Bears held the Bison to just six points in the third quarter and outscored them in the second half 23-19. Gap went from shooting 58 percent in the first quarter to 34 percent in the third.

“In the third quarter, defensively, we stayed strong. We only allowed [Bland] eight points,” Coffey said. “These girls work well together. The teamwork displayed on that court was phenomenal.”

No matter how many points the Bears scored, the Bison would answer with a run of their own.

The Bison went into the final quarter, just eight minutes away from their second state title, with confidence in their eyes and a 12-point lead under their belts.

“It’s been a struggle for a lot of the season,” Coffey said. “That bullseye was on our backs from last year.”

Gap stuck out most of the game pushing a full court press and kept it on until the final buzzer. Bland finally resorted to a press in the fourth quarter, but it did little against the quick pace and strong ball handling capabilities of the Bison.

“You don’t make it this far unless you’re a good basketball team,” Coffey said. “If you let up just a little bit then the lead will be cut. We wanted to keep [Bland] on their heels.”

With a lead of 47-31, Coffey threw in his subs halfway below the two-minute mark and the Bears started to make a small but significant comeback. So Coffey reentered Morgan and Lamneck, just to be safe.

“I wanted to make sure that we got the ball to our end of the court,” Coffey said.

The scoring ended for Gap when Tess Miller nailed a jumper.

“These girls have worked extremely hard,” Coffey said about the subs. “I tell the girls to do the things that allow you to deserve to win. They deserved to play.”

Lamneck walked into the pressroom with cheeks red and tears in her eyes.

“Sometimes reality, despite how glorious it is, sometimes reality can set in quick,” Coffey said.

The locker room after the game wasn’t the scene that Coffey was anticipating either.

“It wasn’t your typical ‘just won the second state championship’ locker room,” Coffey said. “It was very subdued. Not quite the excitement that I was expecting.”

“The immediate reaction after the game was all about the back-to-back wins, but the locker room speech was when it hit us that this was our last game,” Buffalo Gap senior guard Samantha Long said.