By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Kendall Ballard scored 15 points in her final regular season home game and Charlottesville’s girls basketball team used suffocating defense in the fourth quarter to defeat visiting Monticello 43-37 in the final regular-season game for both teams.
Ballard, the only CHS player to score in double figures, made six free throws in the final 4:45 of the game to help the Black Knights pull away in what was a close game throughout. Monticello led 31-30 at the end of the third quarter and Molly Shephard made it a three-point advantage with a layup to open the quarter, but the Knights scored the next six points to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“We just tried to press in spurts,” Charlottesville head coach Jim Daly said. “[Monticello is] a great team — they can handle the ball, they can throw it over the top against pressure. We tried to get a tip or steal where we could.”
Ballard’s foul shots were part of a 7-for-9 fourth quarter performance from the line for CHS. Zanequa Thomas made the other freebie after Mustangs coach Josh McElheney drew a technical foul with 3:48 remaining.
“Coming off back-to-back nights with press — Spotswood ran us all night last night,” McElheney said. “There was a lot of emotion last night and in this one, and we just ran out of gas at the end.”
Monticello led 12-11 after one quarter and managed to stay in front throughout the second. A pair of jumpers by Kiana Scott sandwiched around a long three-pointer from Charlottesville’s Destiny McDonald gave the Mustangs a four-point advantage, and the teams traded baskets until the halftime buzzer, with MHS in front 22-18.
Charlottesville came out of the locker room on fire, beginning with a second three from McDonald and another from Alijah Ragland, in addition to a foul shot each from Ballard and Bri Jordan. That flurry gave the Black Knights a 26-22 advantage with five minutes left in the third, but the Mustangs had an answer.
Shephard, who led all scorers with 17 points, got the ball rolling with two consecutive layups, then scored again and was fouled with 3:52 remaining in the quarter to put Monticello back in front 28-26. She missed the free throw, but the Mustang defense got a stop on the next possession and then Meghan Comer nailed a trey for a 31-26 lead.
“Meghan and Molly are such tough kids,” Daly said. “You can game-plan for them all you want, and they’re still gonna get theirs. They’ve had a remarkable four years.”
The Black Knights’ defense buckled down, holding Monticello without a basket for the rest of the period, while Thomas and Ragland scored to make it a one-point game and set up Charlottesville’s dominant fourth quarter.
“Beating Monticello has been on my to-do list for a long time,” Ballard said. “This is the first time and it felt pretty good.”
Both teams return to action Wednesday night in the Jefferson District tournament. Monticello is the top seed and will meet the fourth-seeded team, while Charlottesville is seeded No. 2 and will play the No. 3 team.
