By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Samara Hussaini’s third basket in the first three minutes put Albemarle up 7-6 after early jitters in the 5A North Conference 16 Tournament.
“You kind of just realize that this could be your last game, so we had to start out strong,” said Hussaini. “I felt like I could take the lead on that.”
From that point on, the second-seeded Patriots did not trail again as full-court pressure and matchup advantages in the offensive half-court propelled them to a 57-29 win over third-seeded Halifax County.
“We talked about her in the last couple of games sleepwalking as far as scoring is concerned,” said Albemarle coach Rachel Proudfoot about her senior forward, who poured in 13 points, all in the first half. “She does so many other things for us, but this game I think she kind of took that to heart. Her first two shots were all swish.”
After Hussaini’s fast start, junior KK Barbour started to heat up as Albemarle used a 17-0 run over the last half of the first quarter and first two minutes of the second to open a 26-8 lead. During that stretch, Barbour tallied her 12th point of the half with a drive down the right side of the lane for a bank-in bucket-and-one.
“Within about six minutes, we realized ‘oh yeah, this is playoffs,’ and they did a great job of turning it up,” said Proudfoot.
Leading 34-15 at the break, Albemarle smothered the Comets in the third quarter, allowing just five points. As the Patriots opened a twenty-point lead, the rotation brought more players from the bench.
“I felt the press didn’t bother us as much as missing shots,” said Halifax County coach Wayne Murray. “I counted at one point four missed layups. To start of the second half, they had seven shots and we didn’t have any. We turned the ball over, we didn’t rebound well, and our shots just weren’t falling.”
Senior forward Ashley Hill led Halifax with eight points. Junior center Brittani Boxley grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds and tallied seven points.
“I’m really excited about the way we played defense,” Proudfoot said. “If you’re playing defense in the playoffs like this, then we’ve got a lot to go to when we need it.”
Barbour finished with game-highs in points and rebounds, a double-double of 19 and 15. Senior forward Alexis Anderson added 10 points for the Patriots and pulled down nine boards. Kendra Hairston posted nine points and made a handful of steals on defense.
Albemarle advances to face top-seed Patrick Henry (Ashland) on the road Friday night in the Conference 16 final. With the win, the Patriots have locked up a Region 5A North tournament berth.
