This one should be fun.
Western Albemarle’s squad, one of the area’s top surprises, is riding a five-game win streak. Fluvanna County is looking to bounce back from its first loss in district play last week.
And that, for all intents and purposes, puts the Jefferson District title on the line Tuesday night at Western Albemarle at 7:30 p.m.
It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly got the Warriors to this point, but Western is playing with a ton of confidence and seems capable of summoning whatever skill set it needs. Against Charlottesville, the Warriors took a beating on the boards in the first half. So Austin Ellis and Ben Turner turned up the intensity and started attacking the glass.
When they’ve needed to get it done from the outside, Parker Morris has been up the challenge. Chase Stokes continues to emerge as a well-rounded, resilient player and point guard Will Donnelly has managed to stay cool under pressure most of the time.
Solid reserves keep coming off the bench too, playing big minutes or simply rock solid in situational matchups.
Now, they’ll face their biggest test so far in YaYa Anderson and the Flucos. While they’ve seen deeper, more talented teams like Virginia Episcopal School, handling the atmosphere and pressure that comes with a game like Tuesday’s is uncharted territory for a team that relies on a lot of young players. Will the Warriors be ready? So far, they’ve certainly been up to the task. But their lone JD loss came to guess who?
Inside the numbers for the Monticello girls
Outside of Powhatan, the JD girls race has been nothing short of total chaos. Early on Charlottesville looked comfortable as the next best team, but when Monticello bounced back from a rough loss to Louisa County two weeks ago, that changed things. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Mustangs took down the Indians by scoring 60 points for the first time since they beat William Monroe on December 7th. Two days later Monticello added a road win over Fluvanna County and a Western win over Charlottesville has placed the Mustangs on the fast track for the second seed in the JD tournament.
What’s making Monticello run is it’s inside-outside game behind guard Bridgett Holleran and freshmen standouts Megan Comer and Molly Shephard. All three are nearly averaging 10 points a game with Holleran leading the way with 11.1, Shephard at 10.2 and Comer measuring in at 9.9. As a three-year starting junior, Holleran, who averages 3.3 steals a game, is finally getting consistent reliable help on offense, and remarkably it’s from these two freshmen.
Comer’s play on the perimeter meshes nicely with the other 3-point shooting on the team, senior Hannah Shepherd. Comer’s hitting almost 30% of her 3-point attempts and also leading the Mustangs passing attack with 2.8 assists per game. Her freshman counterpart, Shephard, is getting the job done in an entirely different way, manning the post and owning the glass. Shephard’s hauling in an impressive 8.1 boards per game with more than a third of those coming on the offensive end and putting the opposition in foul trouble on a regular basis. For a forward, Shephard also stands out as one of the most even-keeled sources of offense as she has just two games where she’s turned the ball over more than twice, and has 14 games where she’s had one give away or less.
The Mustangs have yet to win more than two games in a row, but that’s largely a result of their out-of-district schedule. Of the team’s nine losses, seven are out of district. That’s keeping this team humble right now as sandwiched in between Monticello’s last three JD wins are Saturday road losses to Heritage and E.C. Glass. With just three games left in their regular season and all against district foes, it will be interesting to see how this young team closes out. Three straight wins would send this team into the JD tournament with a well-deserved spark of confidence.
Boys Top 5
1. Blue Ridge (10-6)
While the Barons lost twice last week, the quality of opponents should be considered. Losing to the nation’s top team — Oak Hill — and Virginia Episcopal on the road is nothing to be ashamed of. Plus, they still beat Miller head-to-head, so they still hold a slight advantage over the Mavericks. Expect the Barons to bounce back Tuesday against Liberty Christian
2. Miller (15-5)
The Mavericks faced two overmatched opponents in the last week in LCA and Evangel Christian, but sandwiched in between was a huge test against Virginia Episcopal. Miller passed thanks to Andrew White’s 21-point explosion in the first quarter. The Mavericks are picking up steam.
3. Fluvanna County (15-2)
The Flucos finally slipped up in Jefferson District play — only their second regular season loss over the last two years — but they’re still in control of their own destiny in the JD. Tuesday’s clash with Western Albemarle is an absolutely critical matchup.
4. Western Albemarle (13-6)
Western faced a tall task Friday — beat Charlottesville for a third time this season. Mission accomplished. Now Fluvanna comes to Crozet with the JD title on the line. Ben Turner, who was unstoppable after the break against CHS and finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, will likely need to play big-time basketball.
5. Monticello (11-7)
Last week it appeared Monticello was in the midst of a surge up the Jefferson District standings. Friday night’s victory over Fluvanna County proved just that. With Sam Patterson touching the ball early and often, the Mustangs are looking better and better each week.
On the cusp: William Monroe, Buckingham County
Girls Top 5
1. Miller (15-4)
Impressively enough, the Mavericks 59-47 loss to Oak Hill might say more about this team in a positive way than its 68-21 beatdown of Roanoke Catholic. Oak Hill brought a college team to Crozet, and somehow, Miller kept it close until the third quarter, despite not being able to play its game because Oak Hill had a pair of 6-foot-6 forwards.
2. William Monroe (11-6)
The Dragons extended their winning streak to four games with wins over Madison and Clarke. With only one Bull Run District game left, Monroe will square off against the first place team on the road against George Mason. Monroe already has a playoff resume, but can they force a tie a top of the standings against a team they could well see again?
3. St. Anne’s-Belfield (9-6)
STAB picks up the split on the road we mentioned last week, taking down Trinity Episcopal but coming up short against Cape Henry Collegiate. Just a road trip to a beatable Middleburg team stands between a home stand finish for the Saints. They’ll get their next four games in their own gym which should help them continue to grow with the playoffs looming.
4. Monticello (9-9)
Just a monster win for the Mustangs over Powhatan. Beating Fluvanna made it three straight Jefferson District wins since they fell to Louisa County two weeks ago. On Tuesday, Monticello gets a chance avenge that loss with the Lions before a trip to Crozet to face Western on Thursday.
5. Western Albemarle (7-10)
The Warriors creep back into the top-5 thanks to wins over Louisa County and Charlottesville by a combined three points. That’s a nice change for Western, which lost its two games the week before by a combined six points. A win over Monticello on Thursday would say a lot about this team. They took the out-of-district holiday tourney showdown against the Mustangs, so there is precedent.
On the cusp: Goochland, Tandem Friends, Charlottesville
