FARMVILLE – How well were things going for the Prince Edward County High School girls basketball team in its Wednesday night Southside District opener against Park View? Even the hopeless shots were finding their way through the hoop.

The Eagles scored the first 22 points in the game, and cruised to a 69-34 victory over the Dragons.

Prince Edward guard Regisha Elliott, who led all scorers with 24 points, put an emphasis on how well things were going for the Lady Eagles with 5:15 remaining in the half. She lost her footing about 10 feet from the hoop, and with no help around, had no choice but to heave the ball toward the goal as she fell to the floor. Her shot hit the front of the hoop, bounced up and back down through the net.

That shot was part of a personal 9-4 run by Elliott to start the second quarter, and put PE up 27-4. The Lady Eagles (4-0, 1-0 SSD) played a stout man-to-man, halfcourt-trap defense, and held the Lady Dragons scoreless in the first quarter (20-0), before PV finally got on the board with 7:15 to play in the half on two Bae-Bae Smith free throws.

“We played a really good man-to-man defense tonight,” said PE head coach Chris McCormick. “They lost their point guard earlier in the year to an injury, and they're young, but we still played very well, and executed our game plan.”

The Lady Eagles' game plan is to run and run some more. Prince Edward is one of, if not the smallest team in the Southside District. They'll need to use their overall team speed advantage in order to challenge for the district title.

Prince Edward ran out to a 37-12 lead at the half, and pulled back a little in the second half, but not before making sure the game was in-hand.

“They've been a thorn in our side for a number of years,” said McCormick of the Lady Dragons. “At halftime, we talked about last year when we were up by 14 points. They switched into a man-to-man. We couldn't adjust, and they went on to get the win.”

That didn't happen in the third quarter. Park View cut PE's lead to 39-17 with 5:38 remaining in the third period, but the Lady Eagles went on a 9-2 run over the next 80 seconds to take a 48-19 advantage. Prince Edward led 52-26 at the end of the third quarter, and held its 30-point lead through the final eight-minute period, while playing its bench.

Elliott led all scorers with 24 points, while Shadae Childress scored 16. Smith led PV with 12 points. PE was 10-12 from the foul line, with Childress going 6-6.

“That's good,” said McCormick. “Our goal is 70 percent. We were only around 50 percent for our first couple of games.”

Prince Edward finished third in the Southside District in 2009-10, and lost to Warhill High School in the Region I Semifinals. PE held a lead for most of the game, before faltering late. Through intense conditioning drills in practice, the Lady Eagles are trying to make sure that doesn't happen again.

“We're running a lot in practice, but it's not running just to run,” said McCormick. “Most of it is through drills and as we're working on things, so the girls seem to be okay with it.”

Conditioning will be an issue. The Lady Eagles have ten players on the roster, but are about seven players deep.

“We've got some up from the JV, and one who hasn't played in a while, but we're hoping to develop them to where they can help out a little bit down the road. Hopefully, they'll come along.”

Prince Edward should challenge for the Southside District title, but Powhatan and Southampton are returning most of their team from the 2009-10 campaign.

“They'll be veteran-heavy, and Ruby Allen at Greensville always has something for us. I do think that the overall quality of the boys teams in the Southside has improved the girls programs. The league is deeper.”

Maybe, the Southside's move to having both of the varsity teams playing on the same floor on the same night will help as well.

“We'll have to see,” said McCormick. “Hopefully, if we keep winning our crowds will start showing up earlier and earlier. This area has shown it can fill the gym for girls basketball before, and maybe we can see that again.”