Eight straight is great: Princess Anne girls basketball wins another state title
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (BVM) — There were some differences during the Virginia High School League girls basketball season and those of past years. COVID-19 protocols and mandates were the most noticeable of the changes, as pre and postgame interactions were limited and required masks. Though the on-court product was similar and players didn’t have to wear masks during games like in some other states, the hurdles and hoops programs had to jump through were significant and numerous. Through all of this there was one consistency, however: the Princess Anne High School girls basketball team winning the state championship.
With a 56-41 win over Patrick Henry High School in the VHSL Class 5 State Championship on Feb. 20, the Cavaliers brought home another state title, marking the eighth consecutive victory for head coach Darnell Dozier and his squad. Already the state record holder for most consecutive state titles in the sport, a record the program broke with their fourth championship all the way back in 2017, the Cavs have become the poster child of long-term success in the Virginia basketball circuit.
“The kids come here with the I want to win attitude and I can’t lose attitude,” Dozier said. “It’s just amazing to me. When I first came here I figured we might win one state championship, but it just kept counting up and counting up.”
Though he may not take credit for the team’s long list of accomplishments, Dozier is the one who makes sure the entire system continues its ascent. As the coach for the Cavs since 1995, Dozier has hit his stride over the past decade which has helped him accumulate over 660 wins in his career and brought the team to 14 consecutive state tournament appearances and 13 consecutive state championship appearances, both VHSL records.
“[The streak] will mean I will leave my name for a while until some other great coach comes around and breaks it up,” Dozier said with a laugh. “Right now, I’m very satisfied with what I’ve done. … It means so much to me. I appreciate my kids and the things they’ve done past and present and the things we’ve prevailed against.”
For his contribution to the game, including sending over 10 players to compete at the Division I level, Dozier was elected into the VHSL Hall of Fame last year; a highlight for the coach following a disappointing end to the season where the team was forced to share the Class 5 title due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the tournament to be canceled early.
“When we found out we were like, ‘Co-state champions?’ We’ve never heard of that,” Dozier said. “That bothered me a lot and it bothered the team a lot, but I understand what they had to do to protect us and our kids. … I just wanted to play that game so bad, but I guess that game will never be played.”
However, the missed opportunity to physically defend their title played a role in the Cavs’ season this year. The girls came out with a renewed vigor to win their championship once again, solidifying that their program is still the superior one in Class 5.
“It motivated us to get the state title for ourselves and not to share it with anybody,” senior guard Aziaha James said. “It motivated the younger girls to not be the first ones to lose the state title.”
The Cavs did so with gusto, led by top 100 recruit and North Carolina State commit James, who led the team with 32 points in her final outing.
“It’s very important to keep up the streak,” the senior said. “You didn’t want to be the first one to lose it so it was very important. … [I’ll remember Princess Anne] winning all four state titles and having four rings on my fingers.”
Though the game was not as easy as some in the year’s past, with the team winning the previous five matchups by a stunning 26 points on average, the Cavaliers were able to pull away in the second half after going into the break holding only a 27-21 lead.
The victory also gave the team an undefeated season during the COVID-shortened campaign, finishing the year an unblemished 10-0. While championships may not be anything new for the Cavs, each still holds significance to Dozier, with this one being especially prominent due to the difficulties the team had to endure to finally raise the trophy.
“This season and this team I will remember this as the year of the COVID,” Dozier said. “We didn’t know if we were going to play or not. We didn’t know how things were going to turn out. It was just up and down.”
As the saying goes, “some things never change.” Such is the case with the Princess Anne girls basketball program. Members will leave, many going to top schools. The rules, regulations and guidelines will be adjusted. Even the teams the Cavs face may be different from year to year. But as long as Dozier is at the helm, the VHSL has a good idea who will hold the Class 5 state championship trophy by the end of the year. It’s been that way for eight years and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon.
“We have been doing the same thing for the last 20 years and nobody seems to get a hold of it,” Dozier said. “When we play our last game, I always tell our kids next year we’ll get another one. If we don’t get one I won’t be disappointed, not one bit. I think if we just play hard and as a team I think we will do mainly what we want to do.”
