By Nick Eilerson / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Watching Charlottesville High School win the Jefferson District Tournament did not sit well with the Western Albemarle varsity girls’ basketball squad. After all, Western had proven themselves with wins against CHS in both regular season matchups. So when the two teams met again Thursday night with a state tournament berth on the line, Western was ready to settle the score once and for all. The Warriors did that and a little more, throttling CHS 53-23 in the Region II Semifinal.
“I think it was just the mental drive to improve ourselves,” senior forward Ellen Shaffrey said. “Since we weren’t able to prove ourselves in the Jefferson District Tournament and CHS was able to win the tournament, we felt that it was our job to show who really was the best team in the district.”
Shaffrey dominated on the offensive end all night long, hitting numerous shots inside en route to a game high 17 points, the only player to reach double figures for either team. Perhaps even more impressive was her effort on the other end, as she used her long arms and height to hold CHS junior London Todd to a paltry four points, well below her season average. Another key contributor on defense was junior guard Mady Baker, who cemented her status as one of the district’s best perimeter defenders by limiting dangerous senior guard Ellie Von Storch to five points.
Western jumped out to an early 10-0 lead thanks in large part to a pressure man-to-man defense that completely disrupted the flow of CHS’s half-court offense. Shooters like Von Storch struggled to find open looks at the basket, and several Black Knights struggled to even find open looks at their teammates, as the team committed 12 turnovers in the first half. It all added up to a lopsided 24-7 halftime score.
“We’ve kind of hung our hats on defense all year long,” Western coach Kris Wright said. “We try to play great man-to-man defense, and we really were able to do that early. I think the only basket they had in the first quarter, we missed a rotation.”
CHS had no answer in the second half as they found themselves trailing 39-14 by the end of the third quarter. Compounding the team’s offensive woes was its inability to deal with the Warriors’ penetration in the lane, where they were repeatedly hacked by CHS paint-dwellers. Western finished 23 of 33 from the free throw line, while CHS went five for 10.
Despite the disappointment at game’s end, though, CHS held their heads high knowing they had completed a stellar season. The district tournament champions closed the season out with a 19-6 record, a huge improvement from last year’s 7-8 mark.
“I’m so super proud of how they’ve worked to get to this point,” CHS coach Dee Mitchelson said. “The leadership that the seniors and the upperclassmen brought was unbelievable. They set the tone every day in practice and every time we had a game. So I’m super proud of their hard work and want to wish them best of luck because they’re sure to have bright careers in whatever they do.”
Shaffrey had nine rebounds and four steals to go with her 17 points. Carolyn Schneller finished with nine points, four boards and three assists.
Western reveled in an impressive accomplishment of its own: the team’s trip to the state tournament will mark the second in school history, the last one coming in 1995. After a 17-7 record last year, the Warriors’ mark now stands at 20-5 heading into the Region II Final against Millbrook.
“It’s a big accomplishment for this group,” Wright said. “The seniors all came up together. They were sophomores to varsity, along with Mady Baker, who’s a junior. So those six have played close to 100 varsity games together. So it’s special for them to get to go to the state tournament.”
