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Fresh to death: Flucos rally behind young core in Conference 29 quarterfinals

Photo: Ryan Yemen

When you hit less than a third of your shots from the field and just over a third of your shots at the free throw line, something else had to happen for you to win a playoff game. For Fluvanna County, it was defense and rebounding that proved the difference.

 

For many of the Flucos, the Conference 29 quarterfinal with Fort Defiance was an jumping off point, an elimination game for a roster that features five freshmen. Fittingly enough, down the stretch, three of those freshman made a huge impact in a 40-36 win over the the Indians, and by playing defense and attacking the basket.

 

“We’ve worked on building a basketball IQ,” said Fluvanna coach Chad White. “When they see gaps now they attack them. They’re great at penetrating instead of just chucking it up.”

 

In a defensive battle, the Flucos started out in a 5-0 hole. However they answered with seven unanswered to take their first lead of the game shortly thereafter. Down by one going into the second quarter, Fluvanna claimed a 14-8 lead with another 7-0 run but saw Fort Defiance respond with an 8-1 run of its own to reclaim a 1-point lead going into the break. Nevaeh Ivory paced the way for Fluvanna scoring 10 of her team’s first 15 points.

 

The third quarter played out in reverse to the second with the Indians staking a 23-19 lead but the Flucos rallying to tie things up. While Fort Defiance’s defense keyed in on Ivory, that opened the door for Jameka Johnson in the paint and Chaniya Brown from outside to make it 28-28 going into the fourth quarter.

 

The fourth quarter belonged to the Flucos’ freshman class. For starters, Jules Shepherd had a pair of baskets and five of her nine points in the final frame. And while Fort Defiance was settle for shots outside, Fluvanna pounded the ball inside as often as possible with Shepherd hitting a jumper and finishing a layup to make it 36-35 midway through the fourth, the game’s final lead change.

 

“We learned that we have to keep pushing all the way to the end if we want this season to continue for our seniors,” Shepherd said. “We knew what we had to do and our coaches, they kept us focused on what mattered in the end.”

 

On the defensive end of the floor, Ivory came up with a steal in the final minute of play and hit a free throw to make it 39-36. Then Kyia Scott came up with a defensive stop and hit a free throw with two seconds left to put the game out of reach at 40-36.

 

“It really means a lot to us,” Ivory said. “We know how it is moving on because we have three more years as a freshman and we’ve got five freshman on the team. It means a lot to us.”

 

On the night, Ivory finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Shepherd has nine points and three steals. Johnson finished with four points and four steals. Brown chipped in six points and eight rebounds.

 

While it was a struggle at the line until the end of the game for Fluvanna, Fort Defiance’s woes at the charity stripe in the first three frames kept things even. And Fluvanna dominating the glass and playing patient despite it’s youthful makeup, the offensive issues wound up not taking their toll. 

 

“It was weird watching another team miss some free throws because I’m used to us missing them and other teams knocking them down,” White said. “But things that didn’t show up in the stat sheet was the young players stepping up and then Chaniyah Brown being a leader and pulling the team together, getting them to understand what we wanted to accomplish in the end.”

 

Fluvanna travels to face Broadway on Wednesday at 6 p.m. with a Region 3A West berth on the line.

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