If you’re having trouble getting points in the paint, you better be able to knock down jumpers. And if those don’t fall, you might be in for a long evening.
William Monroe fell into that trap Tuesday evening on its home court, as a hot start from an opposing guard and a suffocating 2-3 zone defense proved too much for the home team to handle as the Dragons dropped a close one to the Page County Panthers, 54-49.
“They’ve got a couple of good shooters, and we didn’t do a good job of closing out their shots,” said William Monroe coach Phillip Lamb.
Page County’s Ashley Price was easily the story of the first quarter, contributing 10 of Page’s first 12 points in a staggering offensive display on the way to 17 overall points. The Dragons, who tried early and often to go straight at the rim, struggled to score, mustering just seven points through the first eight minutes of play. Page’s crisp passing and floor awareness led to a 26-19 halftime lead.
All that changed, though, in the second half. An opening three from guard Katelyn Roach cut the lead to four. Led by Roach and backcourt mate Alex Cave, who contributed 16 and 12 points respectively, the Dragons stormed back in the third period to close the gap to just three points. The third period effort nearly matched William Monroe’s entire offensive output in the first half.
But Page’s defense managed to hold. After a timeout and a Dragon turnover, the Panthers pushed the lead back to seven.
“We didn’t do a good enough job attacking their zone,” Lamb said, “and we settled for too many outside shots.”
William Monroe couldn’t overcome its lack of presence in the paint, and the Page zone collapsed on Dragon sharpshooters before they could find open looks. Capitalizing on the lack of green jerseys underneath the basket, Page slowed the game down to a crawl and kept feeding Taylor Jenkins down low for easy buckets. The junior finished with 12 points, most of which came in the second half. The Cougars then hit their free throws down the stretch and were able to run out the clock in the waning moments.
William Monroe faces Goochland next Tuesday as the Dragons return to Jefferson District play.
Matthew McMullan/ScrimmagePlay.com Correspondent
