By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
PALMYRA — Fluvanna County used its stingy defense to break to a quick start as it cruised to a win over visiting Louisa County on Tuesday night.
Kiana Childress poured in a game-high 18 points for the Flucos, who led the entire game en route to the 55-44 victory.
“We’re teeny but we’re quick,” Fluvanna coach Chad White said. “I knew the only way we were going to have a chance is if we tried to put pressure on the ball, [get turnovers] and get easy buckets in transition.”
The Flucos (7-7) capitalized on the Lions’ miscues and jumped out to a 12-2 lead. Fluvanna continued to put the pressure on in the second quarter and limited the visitors to one shot for much of the frame and held a 27-14 halftime advantage.
In addition to getting baskets in transition, the Flucos were able to get to the foul line, converting 16 of 33 attempts from the charity stripe.
Childress, a senior guard who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season, went 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Fluvanna was unrelenting in the second half, extending its advantage to as many as 23 before Louisa chipped away at the lead.
“I give Fluvanna a lot of credit, they came out hard and focused,” Louisa coach Jarred Soles said. “We didn’t match the intensity at the beginning of the game. I told our girls that starts in practice. You have to guard each other every day like Fluvanna guarded us tonight. They just punched us right in the mouth from the beginning because they had more intensity.”
Tamara Lewis added eight points for the Flucos, while Chaniya Brown and Morgan Symmers finished with six points apiece. Yasmine Tyler led the way for the Lions with 12 points and Breon Washington added nine.
Fluvanna visits Orange County on Thursday while Louisa entertains Caroline.
