By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Molly Shephard poured in 19 points and Kiana Scott added 15 for the Monticello girls basketball team as they cruised to a 42-24 home win over visiting Fluvanna County on Tuesday night.
The Flucos had no answer for Shephard down low, as the Lynchburg College commit had a pair of three-point plays to open the second quarter. That turned an 8-8 tie into a 14-8 lead and the Mustangs never looked back. Monticello’s defense took over in the second period, holding the Flucos without a field goal en route to a 24-9 lead. The Mustangs’ run reached 12-0 until Melanie Gray hit a free throw with 1:10 left before halftime, getting Fluvanna into the scoring column in the second stanza.
“The past few games, Orange and Western focused on shutting me down and it was frustrating,” Shephard said. “So I wanted to come out and prove myself.”
A layup by Chaniya Brown and Morgan Symmers’ third three-pointer of the game brought the Flucos within 10 to open the second half. Symmers led Fluvanna with nine points, but Monticello finished the quarter on a 10-4 run punctuated by Meghan Comer nailing a half-court shot, which hit nothing but strings as the horn sounded.
“As soon as [Meghan] got the rebound, my only question was ‘How far away is she going to shoot it from?'” Monticello coach Josh McElheny said.
Scott hit a jumper and then two free throws to give MHS its largest lead at 38-18 early in the fourth quarter, allowing McElheny to empty his bench in the final minutes.
“[Fluvanna] got some decent looks and I thought they rebounded well against our size,” McElheny said. “Some of their long shots yielded long rebounds, negating our advantage inside.”
Fluvanna tried in vain all game to neutralize Monticello’s decided advantage down low with outside shooting. Unfortunately for the Flucos, they made just 3-of-16 from beyond the arc and struggled to get to the free-throw line all night, and made just one of their five attempts. The Mustangs, meanwhile, pounded the ball inside and drew foul after foul, finishing 13-of-25 from the stripe.
“At the end of the day, we could not knock down shots,” Fluvanna coach Chad White said. “It is what it is — Monticello is a good team and we knew we couldn’t shut down everyone.”
Monticello returns to action Friday night in a crosstown rivalry game at Albemarle. Fluvanna will travel to Powhatan, also on Friday.
