Monticello’s press wasn’t getting the Mustangs anywhere. Western Albemarle built a sizeable early lead by quickly breaking the press and the Warriors were dictating the pace of the game.
So Monticello head coach Josh McElheny took a page from the Warriors late in the second quarter and shifted his squad’s focus.
“They really got us playing their style of basketball,” McElheney said. “We said at halftime if we’re going to win this game, we’re going to have to do it their style and play some defense. I switched it up there and played kind of the same zone they were playing. I just kind of went at them with what they were going at us with.”
The adjustment paid off as the Mustangs gutted out a 41-35 victory over the Warriors to stay unbeaten in Jefferson District play. When Monticello went into the zone it slowed down Western, who started the game with a 12-3 run and poured in 24 first half points for a six-point lead at the break.
“He did it late in the second quarter,” said Western coach Kris Wright of McElheney’s switch. “I think their top rotates a little different than our top but for the most part it’s the exact same zone.”
While the defense eventually stepped up for the Mustangs, Monticello consistently found an answer for Western’s own defensive approach in sophomore post standout Molly Shepherd. Shepherd led the way with 26 points and six rebounds for the Mustangs, continuing a string of 20-point outings — she had 23 against Fluvanna and 27 against Powhatan in her last two performance. Her 26 accounted for 63 percent of the Monticello offense.
“Rivalry games come down not to scheme or gameplan or anything like that,” Wright said. “It comes down to which players are going to make plays when it matters. Molly Shepherd made a ton of jumpers. That’s a huge game from a very talented player who never stops playing.”
Throughout the contest, Western tried to take away Shepherd on the low block by collapsing the zone, but didn’t challenge nearly as often when she caught the ball in position for a mid-range jumper. She started burying that shot consistently early and never stopped. Her production slowed only in the fourth when Monticello senior Bridget Holleran picked up the pace and finished with eight points.
“I think we’ve really figured out how to get the ball inside to the post and I think it’s really been helpful because if our guards aren’t able to get the shots outside, it really helps fire the offense and carry us along,” Shepherd said.
Western had a couple of chances to claw back into a tie game in the closing minute after Monticello opened up a seven-point lead midway through the fourth. But turnovers and missed opportunities put the game squarely back in Monticello’s hands.
Western was keeping pace with Shepherd early through Rachel Cooke, who had 12 first half points, but a lower leg injury on a loose ball knocked Cooke out of the contest after the half. Anna Sumpter hit a trio of threes on the night while tallying 11 points, but the offense stumbled without Cooke in the lineup.
Bridget Shaffrey pulled down eight rebounds and had a pair of blocks for the Warriors.
