Charlottesville’s London Todd is growing into her role for next season as a senior leader and the engine that’ll drive the Black Knights on both ends of the floor.
In fact, Tuesday night in a 48-35 Region II quarterfinal win over Monticello, Todd did a pretty good job of doing just that, pouring in 19 points and helping lead the Black Knights’ fourth quarter surge.
With the Black Knights clinging to a 31-28 lead at the start of the fourth, Charlottesville took their team defensive intensity up a few notches and went on a 15-2 run to put Monticello away and advance to the Region II, Division 3 semifinals where they’ll play the winner of tonight’s Western Albemarle/Park View game.
Todd buried a number of key shots from the perimeter, combining with Ellie Von Storch to lead an assault from beyond the arc. Both buried three 3-pointers each. Von Storch finished with 15 points on the night and Olivia Levine’s 10 points (6-for-7 from the free throw line) rounded out the bulk of the Charlottesville scoring.
“I think (Todd is) starting to embrace that she’s not really a junior anymore,” said Charlottesville coach Dee Michelson. “She has a beautiful shot. We’ve been patient on offense and when we work it around, if she’s open I tell her to pull it. It’s hard to defend her inside and then to come out and guard her.”
A Von Storch 3-pointer got the critical 15-2 run going, and a Sydney Calloway stickback, her lone bucket on the night, kept it going. Todd hit a mid-range jumper and a pair of free throws while Von Storch knocked down another bucket and Levine completed an old-fashioned 3-point play to essentially seal it with 3:22 left to play. Charlottesville’s defensive play fueled the transition game, a point of emphasis since the start of the postseason for Charlottesville.
“We’re trying to play a little more transition ball because at this point in the season it’s too late to put in another halfcourt offense and everyone knows what we do,” Mitchelson said.
The Mustangs, stuck playing the physical Black Knights again after locking up with them on Friday in the Jefferson District championship, didn’t back down from Charlottesville. Without anyone on the roster really pouring it in — Jesse Valentic led the way with nine points — Monticello stayed in the game with a scrappy defensive effort and a big dose of toughness. Bridgett Holleran shook off a hard fall on a loose ball in the backcourt and shortly after a recovering on the bench was back in the mix.
“Our physical effort and emotional effort tonight was top-flight,” said Monticello coach Mike Mountjoy. “I couldn’t ask anything more from any kid on this team. We did so many of the right things.”
Holleran had eight points and Hannah Shepherd had seven for the Mustangs. Brittany Haun, Monticello’s defensive stopper shuttled between marking Von Storch and Todd as Monticello changed defensive schemes up looking for an answer for the Black Knights’ two lead scorers.
The massive improvement that the Mustangs made during Mountjoy’s tenure was pretty evident in the loss. In fact a regular season score from the coach’s first season at the helm made the comparison pretty simple.
“I told the kids in the locker room that just 25 months ago it was 32-3 at halftime against this same team,” Mountjoy said. “And we just gave them all that they wanted in a regional playoff game.”
