Henderson rains threes, Lady Tigers march on with win over Fountain Inn

Zikira Henderson put up 32 points on seven made threes in Blue Ridge’s 67-55 win over Fountain Inn. The Lady Tigers move on to face Daniel on Feb. 22 in the upper state semis.

Leaving Zikira Henderson open might not be the smartest idea.

Fountain Inn learned that quickly in Saturday afternoon’s second-round Class 3-A playoff game, as Blue Ridge’s star senior torched the Fury for 32 points on seven made three-pointers.

Henderson led the Lady Tigers to a 67-55 win.

“I was just confident out there,” said Henderson. “Even if I missed, my teammates kept telling me to shoot. They trusted me.”

“[Zikira’s] so great. As a coach, you dream of coaching a kid like Zikira,” said Blue Ridge head coach Alex Smith. “She’s not only one of our best players, but she’s one of our hardest workers, too.”

The Lady Tigers and Lady Fury battled back and forth for most of the first half, with Blue Ridge taking a 33-27 lead to the locker room. But after Henderson opened the third quarter with three consecutive three-pointers in the first three minutes, that was all she wrote.

The Lady Tigers opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run. They never looked back.

“At halftime, we knew we had to stay together as a team,” said Henderson. “It’s basketball. It’s a game of runs. We just had to stick together and pick each other up after the first half.”

With the victory, Blue Ridge advances to the upper state semifinals for the fourth straight season.

The Lady Tigers haven’t won any of their three previous trips. This year hopes to be different. Blue Ridge will travel to Daniel with a berth in the upper state championship on the line.

Blue Ridge defeated Daniel twice earlier this season.

“We’ve prepared for this moment,” said Smith. “Preparation equals confidence. We’ve been in this situation before, and we’re hoping to leapfrog that [upper state semifinals] hurdle.”

“I think this is going to be the year,” said Henderson.

THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Ft. Inn 17 10 15 13 - 55
BR 21 12 23 11 - 67

BLUE RIDGE STAT LEADERS
Zikira Henderson - 32 points
Anyah Henderson - 17 points
Audrey Harkins - 9 points
Talia Maxwell-Holbrook - 4 points