On December 22, I went to see the player who might be the nation’s top girls high school basketball player in the Class of 2011, Elizabeth Williams of Group AAA Princess Anne High School of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Princess Anne High School was playing (Forestville, Maryland) Bishop McNamara High School in Hampton, Virginia. Every photo in this report is of her, except the one of the road sign taken as I left Charlottesville on my way to Richmond, and the photo of the Princess Anne High School girls head basketball coach, Darnell Dozier. Incredibly, coach Darnell Dozier has lost only 35 games total in his 15 years heading in to this season!!
Princess Anne had gone 31-1 last season, losing only to an out-of-state team! They had won the large-school, Group AAA championship! In her freshman season, they had gone 29-2, losing in the state semi-finals. Elizabeth Williams was playing tonight in the “Ronald Curry & Boo Williams Christmas Classic,” [Charlottesville to Richmond!] at the “Boo William’s Sportsplex,” in Hampton, Virginia. [Williams during warm-ups]
I left for the game at 1:38 P.M. on Tuesday. Charlottesville had a lot of snow due to the fact it has showed 19-24 inches starting the previous Friday! It was 42 degrees. I listed to AM radio “1610,” a public radio station in Goochland, Virginia at 2:26 P.M., which said that there were “no hazardous weather is expected at this time.”
I also listened to AM radio station 910 where famous [Williams before 12-22-09 game] radio host Jim Rome at 2:29 P.M. was talking about “the piece that launched a thousands sound bites,” by correspondant Delonte I. (sp?). He then played an audio clip where ex-NBA superstar Isiah Thomas is being introduced as the head men’s basketball coach at Florida International University as “Isiah Thompson” by the president of the school.
I listened to AM radio ESPN 950 at 2:34 P.M. and Justin Gates of the Tennessee Titans was saying that “We’ve known we had a good team.” I arrived in Richmond, Virginia at 2:44 P.M. [Coach Dozier] [Williams palms the ball!]
I listened to rock station 102.1 and Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” at 3:00 P.M. I had figured it wasn’t important to get directions because I had already been to the ” Boo William’s Sportsplex” before. I then realized that I should have! I called information and got the number to the “Boo William’s Sportsplex,” then got directions.
I got to Williamsburg, VA at 3:41. By 3:54 I was in Newport News, VA. At 4:06 I was in Hampton, VA. The game was supposed to begin at 7, but due to a change in schedule, it had been moved to 8:30. Haha! [Williams listens to the coach] The game began! [Williams, #52] At the end of the first quarter, Princess Anne led 16-13. They extended their lead to 32-28 at the half. But after three quarters, the lead was 42-40. It was a close game! Elizabeth Williams made a great left-handed hook shot to tie the game at 42-42 at the start of the fourth quarter. She had little help from her teammates. Princess Anne didn’t seem to have the kind of talent surrounding her that they did last season. The final score was 72-60.
The game ended at 10:10 P.M. I stopped at a gas station/convenience store called “Miller’s” at 10:35. On radio station 102.1, “The X,” I listened to “Fire Woman,” by “The Cult” at 11:24 P.M. I got to the Richmond, Virginia area at 11:31 P.M. Then, on 95.3, a country station, I listened to a song that included the words “I have loved Jim Beam.” At 11:44 P.M. I passed Exit 79 to the University of Richmond. I was on the way home and got home at around 1:15 A.M. Whew!
