In a battle of public versus private schools, Charlottesville High School got the best of Tandem Friends Friday night, as the CHS girls basketball team handed the Badgers their first loss of the 2011 campaign. An early full court press swung the momentum in Charlottesville’s favor and propelled the Black Knights to a 46-30 victory.
“We have been really reliant on our press to give us momentum to get some easy baskets at the beginning of the game and to give the other ball handlers a little bit of pressure,” said Charlottesville head coach Dee Mitchelson.
The CHS press did just that, allowing the Black Knights to jump out to an early 8-2 lead, forcing Tandem to call a time out midway through the first quarter in an attempt to slow the momentum.
“We came out flat the first quarter. We were a little intimidated, I believe, I couldn’t figure it out,” said Tandem Friends head coach Gordon Fields.
The Badgers were able to pull within four, but Charlottesville sophomore guard Tamara Starchia drained a three pointer at the start of the second quarter, kickstarting a 9-0 run for the Black Knights leading to a 27-14 halftime lead.
Tandem emerged from halftime with a vengeance, outscoring Charlottesville 11-9 in the third period.
“[Our team] figured out that they could step the defense up. Our defense dictates our offense, so we played better defense the third quarter and that helped us on the offensive end,” Fields said.
Charlottesville grabbed the momentum back in the final period, however, finishing the game on a 10-5 run to win by a 16-point margin.
“We really tried to limit them to getting one shot under the basket and not giving them second and third chances, and I think the girls did a good job of that,” Mitchelson said of her team’s strong defensive stance.
On the offensive side, even considering a strong showing Friday night, Mitchelson feels her team’s success on the attacking end this season will rely on instilling a desire to shoot the ball more.
“Coach [Jim Daly] and I actually talked about encouraging the girls to shoot the ball more, and that’s not a problem that many coaches have,” she said. “When we watched ourselves on film, we were just passing the ball, passing the ball, passing the ball, and we try to preach to them ‘Every time you catch the ball, be in triple threat to either score, drive, or pass,” so we’re just trying to work on small things like that.”
Junior Sydney Calloway led the Black Knights with 11 points Friday night, followed closely behind Starchia with 10.
For Tandem, junior Kate Moody was the top scorer, tying the game high with 11 points.
Charlottesville, now 2-0, will travel to William Monroe Saturday for a 5pm tip off. Tandem Friends will be off until after the holidays, with their next contest coming as part of the Covenant Christmas Tournament beginning Wed., Dec. 28.
