The Albemarle girls started the night with a 16-1 run to open up the night, the Albemarle boys finished on a 27-10 stretch to close it. In all it amounted to a sweep on the night for both Patriots squads over visiting Charlottesville.
With an outstanding first half effort from Alexis Anderson, and a huge second half showing from KK Barbour, the presence from Albemarle in the paint was simply too much for Charlottesville as the Patriots rolled to a 54-39 victory.
“We came out focused and fed off the defense and so the offense came off more natural,” said Albemarle coach Rachel Proudfoot. “We not only had (the height) advantage tonight, we recognized the advantage and that was a huge difference. We’ve been taller than other teams but haven’t had that recognition yet. Tonight they just saw it.”
The Patriots started off the first quarter with a 16-1 run lead fueled by six points from Anderson and five from Samira Hussaini. With a pair of 3-pointers coming from Kaila Wood and Felicia Garrison the second quarter, Albemarle maintained its lead going into the break up 27-10.
“We hustled really hard and came out hyped with a lot of energy,” Anderson said. “Once we had that lead we just had to keep pushing.”
Barbour took over in the third quarter down low, scoring seven points in a 10-2 run that inflated Albemarle’s lead to 25 with just over 12 minutes left. From there the Patriots were able to work in different personnel and go to work on the clock.
“We had to keep powering it in the post,” Anderson said. “If we get the ball there and we’ll take it to the hoop.”
Anemic in the first three quarter, Charlottesville finally found some life in the fourth behind Nia Johnson and River Frazier. Johnson scored six of her seven points in the second half while Frazier led the Black Knights in scoring with nine points.
Anderson and Barbour combined for 23 of the Patriots 54 points with Anderson having a game high 12 points. All of Barbour’s 11 points came in the second half. Huisaini added eight points.
Charlottesville (7-7) returns of Jefferson District play on Tuesday as it travels to Powhatan at 7:30 p.m.
Albemarle (7-9) will head back into Commonwealth District play starting on Friday on the road at North Stafford at 7:30 p.m.
AHS boys pull away in second half
Charlottesville wiggled its way out of the one deficit. The second run from Albemarle proved to be overwhelming. Thanks to a second straight big showing from Harmon Hawkins in as many days, the Patriots went from leading by just two points early in the third to cruising to a 55-36 win over the Black Knights.
“When we got a little accustomed to handling (Charlottesville’s) pressure better, then that’s when we starting scoring,” said Albemarle coach Greg Maynard. “We got the ball to the spots that we want to get it on the floor to give us the best chance to score, and again, that’s difficult against Charlottesville’s pressure. I thought that was the difference.”
The Patriots got off to a good start behind De Mallory and were able to take a 7-point lead in the first quarter. But after a slow start offensively, Charlottesville warmed up in the second with Jordan Saylor knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and helping trim the margin to just 3-points at the break.
To start the third quarter, the Black Knights to within a basket of the lead, and after missing back-to-back layups to tie the contest, Albemarle put together its game finishing run. The Patriots closed the third quarter strong to go up by eight points and the momentum carried over into the fourth where they nearly doubled it to a 15-point advantage.
“I think we just decided to get the ball inside more, we had a pretty good size advantage,” Hawkins said. “We were able to get the pass to the wing and then able to work it inside so we just started scoring.”
With Charlottesville struggling to knock down any shots from close in or from far out and the Patriots forcing turnovers and winning the majority of the 50-50 balls, Albemarle was able to close the game comfortably with its bench.
“We didn’t turn the ball over in positions where they could take of with it,” Maynard said. “When we had a turnover, it was inside or right out of bounds where we could still set our defense.”
Hawkins and Mallory both finished in double figures with the former leading the way with 15 points and the latter just behind at 10. Cory Lesher added eight points while Logan Ford contributed six. Hawkins also had six rebounds and a trio of blocks. Ford had five boards and five assists.
For the Black Knights, Saylor led the way with eight points while Jamar Pierre-Lewis and Isaiah Green each had seven.
Charlottesville (5-9) will head back in Jefferson Distric play on Tuesday as it hosts Powhatan at 7:30 p.m.
Albemarle (10-6) will rejoin Commonwealth District play with second place North Stafford coming to town on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
