[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

Published: July 2, 2008

HAMPTON — Four friendly girls basketball rivals teamed up for Tuesday night’s opening game of the 37th annual Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star Week.

Brittany Campbell and Joyous Tharrington of Brookville and Kylee Beecher and Abby Oliver of Group AA state champion Hidden Valley, who traveled together on the same Roanoke Stars AAU team for years, were all in the starting lineup in the West squad’s surprisingly easy 97-53 victory.

GIRLS
West 97
East 53

Area players
- Joyous Tharington, Brookville, scored 8 points for the West girls
- Brittany Campbell, Brookville, scored 7 points and hit two 3-pointers for the West girls
- Thomas Brown, Nelson County, scored 8 points and hit two 3-pointers for the East boys

Playing in an exciting, yet relaxed, atmosphere at Hampton Coliseum, the foursome had plenty to smile about in a game that quickly turned into a laugher, the first triumph for the West squad over the East since 2004.

Beecher, the Titans’ 6-foot-4 center headed to Liberty University, swatted the opening tip to future Flames teammate Campbell before Tharrington received an inside feed from Oliver, a fellow Richmond recruit, and finished it with a layup that set the tone for the game.

Moments later, Tharrington converted a putback of a 3-point miss by Oliver before Oliver reciprocated off Tharrington’s 3-point miss for an early 6-2 lead.

Tharrington scored six of her eight points in the first quarter and Campbell sank two of her three 3-point attempts and finished with seven points.

“It was fun,” Campbell said. “I was excited I got to play with Joy in our last true high school game together. It was great. I’m happy we beat the East for the first time in a long time, and that we blew them out. It was a good ending to our high school careers. We went out with a bang.”

Another LU recruit — West MVP Devon Brown of Group AA state runner-up Waynesboro — helped spark a 9-1 spurt that extended the lead to 29-12 at the end of the period.

After Brown (17 points) finished consecutive assists from Oliver with two free throws and a layup on the right baseline, Beecher (eight points) grabbed a defensive rebound and sent an outlet pass to Brown, who played it back to Tharrington near midcourt. She assisted Oliver (12 points) on back-to-back layups, the second off a steal by Forest Park’s Amber Epps, to cap the first-period scoring.

Early in the second quarter, Tharrington showed her defensive prowess, pouncing on a loose ball in the corner for a steal.

After a timeout alertly called by a teammate, she sent a pass to Brown who assisted Beecher on an inside score.

“We played great team ball,” said Campbell, who sandwiched two inside assists to Bassett’s Kristen Keith around her first 3-pointer from the top of the key early in the second quarter.

Her second trey stretched the West’s advantage to 62-20 midway through the third period.

Campbell said her relationships with her past, present and future teammates meant more to her than final stats, especially in such a lopsided contest.

“When I came out, I just wanted to have fun and leave it all out there,” she said. “Who cares about the points? Who cares about who scores? It was the last time I get to play with my best friend Joyous.”

Tharrington is looking forward to the chance to face her longtime AAU and high school teammate in a preseason tournament this winter in which both Liberty and Richmond are invited.

“There’s a possibility we could play against each other,” she said.

If they do meet, they’ll be able to draw upon a wealth of shared experiences, capped by a summer all-star showcase where they held their own against some of the state’s best graduating seniors.

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[thesportscritic]

nice article