By JONATHAN GREENE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, Va. — After having a less than stellar start to the season, the Graham G-Girls kicked it into gear last week.
The G-Girls swept their competition with three wins and a big reason was junior Liz Workman.
The 5-foot-8 guard tallied 33 points and had over 13 steals which earned her Pocahontas Coal Association/ Bluefield Daily Telegraph Player of the Week honors.
“That’s the type of player I know Liz is,” Graham head coach Tracy Raban said. “She showed sparks of that last year. With the players that we lost last year, Liz has to do that for us every game this year.
“She has to be the leader on the floor. Though she’s not the most talented athlete you’ll see around, but heart and determination — she’s probably the best around.”
Workman scored 12 points in Graham’s 41-32 win over Radford to start the week. The bigger stat was her eight steals.
“The first game we played tremendous defense,” Workman said. “As coach said, that was one of our best defensive games we’ve played all year. We actually had good things come out of that by making our lay-ups and shooting the ball well. Good defense helped us through out the game.”
She added 10 points in a 34-33 victory over Fort Chiswell then capped her week off with 11 points, five steals and four assists against Holston.
“She’s not the best shooter, but she makes up for that on the defensive end of the floor,” Raban said. “We put her on the opposing team’s best player. I know she will give me 110 percent every game, all game long.”
Workman is happy with her defensive assignment saying “It’s a compliment for me to be guarding the best players.”
While many players may be discouraged by not being considered the most talented, Workman just continues to work hard and give Raban and the G-Girls everything she has.
“I play AAU and I see players who are really good,” Workman said of why she plays so hard. “I went to nationals two years in a row for AAU and I’ve seen what’s out there. As long as I’m doing my hardest and giving it all I have, I’m right up there with those talented athletes.”
Raban added, “It’s great. With the games we’ve played this year, we’ve struggled a little more than we have in the past. To have Liz still going hard and the determination and desire — she plays with pride. That means a lot.”
Since she stepped onto the varsity team as a freshmen, Raban has seen Workman grow from a wide-eyed newcomer to a veteran leader.
“She’s grown tremendously,” Raban said. “In ninth grade I can remember we could raise our voice at her or she’d get a foul called on her and she’d cry. She’s grown and matured through the years.
“She fights through that stuff now. Instead of having her head stay down, she bounces right back and keeps fighting through it. She’s grown a lot.”
Workman added, “As a freshmen, we had Chelsea Gallinger and Kelly Landreth and they were the seniors who everyone looked up to. They did all the scoring and rebounding. Now, it’s me who everyone is helping out. It’s crazy.
“Where I’m only a junior, I feel like there should be someone else I’m looking up to. But I feel grateful that people are looking up to me for my hard work.”
With Workman leading the way, Graham is off to a 6-3 start despite a setback to Chilhowie on Thursday.
“We did lose a lot from last year,” Raban said. “I was pleased that over the summer at team camp the showing we had there. We’re young in minutes. We look to Liz to be that leader.
“I think what she’s done, so far other players are starting to follow her lead and play hard and determined. Hopefully, we can keep doing that the rest of the year.”
Workman added, “If we do as good as we did at team camp, we’ll be doing great. We played as a team. We had no conflicts and we worked hard. We played defense. That’s the team we can be.”
— Contact Jonathan Greene
at jgreene@bdtonline.com
HONORABLE MENTION
Bland County (2-0 last week): Jessie Blessing, 25 points; Kelsey Dinger, 14 points vs. Fort Chiswell.
Graham (3-0): Ashley Moretto, 21 points; Tori Repass, 11 rebounds vs. Radford; Karly Morgan, 10 points vs. Radford.
James Monroe (1-0): Kelsie Mann, 27 points; Emily McKinney, 10 points; Melissa Johnston, 7 points, 10 rebounds; Jordan Page, 6 points, 7 assists.
Mercer Christian (1-0): Olivia Grondzik, 24 points vs. Pipestem Christian; Alex Bailey, 14 points.
Mount View (1-0): Ashley Belfiore, 16 points; Shyrell Johnson, 8 points.
PikeView (0-1): Lyndsay Hatfield 16 points, 7 rebounds; Hope Nester, 12 points, 5 assists, 3 steals; Lauren White, 10 points, 6 rebounds.
Pipestem Christian (0-1): Brooke Matherly, 6 points.
Princeton (2-0): McKenzie Akers, 37 points; Sidney Graham, 7 points, 11 rebounds vs. Capital; Hannah Preservati, 18 points; Marissa Mullins, 18 points vs. PikeView; Kendria Perkins, 9 points, 12 rebounds vs. PikeView.
Richlands (0-1): Brittany Allen, 24 points vs. Carroll County.
River View (0-1): Samantha Matney, 18 points; Chelsea Dobbs, 7 points, 9 rebounds; Tara Bowles, 6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks.
Summers County (1-0): Candance Brown, 28 points, 8 steals; Brandy Morrison, 20 points, 12 rebounds; Avery Pivont, 10 points.
Tazewell (0-1): Whitney Saunders, 12 points vs. Christiansburg; Haley Christian, 11 points, 8 rebounds; Autumn Hash, 11 points; Taylor Catron, 7 points, 5 assists.
Twin Valley (1-0): Kara Goodman 24 points, 12 rebounds; Kaitlyn Jackson 19 points; Rachel Horn, 11 points.