Weirdly enough, both coaches were scratching their heads a little bit afterwards. Charlottesville’s Jim Daly was happy that his Black Knights finished the job late, but a barrage of fourth quarter turnovers turned what looked like a runaway win into a sweat.
Louisa County’s Nick Schreck was left wondering what might have been if the Lions had turned in another, or three other full quarters like the one they had in the fourth. With the postseason looming large, it was a game of lessons for two of the top Jefferson District squads with Charlottesville able to come out on top with a 48-42 win on senior night to avenge its loss when the two met back at the end of December.
“Our girls wanted this one and played with a lot of energy, and maybe we had a little too much energy or emotion that led to us not taking care of the ball so well down the stretch,” Daly said. “But they wanted it and that’s what matters and it showed for sure. We got to the foul line, we hit most of our shots. I thought we allowed it to get too close, but in the final few minutes, played smart and didn’t turn the ball over. That was good to see.”
Based on the first three quarters, there was little expectation that this game would come down to the wire the way it did. While the two played closely in the first three minutes, the Black Knights caught fire after that, build up a healthy halftime lead and led by as much as 36-19 in the middle of the third. Going into the fourth it was 36-23.
“I thought we were aggressive and that’s what we needed to be against them,” Daly said. “We were really doing a good job of that in the first half, parts of the second.”
And then the Lions, many of them in foul trouble, simply came to life. With turnovers created off their press and the Louisa forwards starting to win the battle of the boards underneath the basket, Anna Agee took over offensively. With the game at 39-30, Agee scored eight of team’s next 10 points including a 3-pointer to make it 41-36 and then a jumper to cut it 41-40. It was a 21-5 run from the end of the third until late in the fourth.
“We started playing as a team and it was something we talked about all night long,” Schreck said. “This program hasn’t been in a situation like this, a game that’s mattered like this late in the regular season, in a long time. We told our girls to be in the moment, but don’t let it get to big. I think for a while there it was. But they fought back, settled down and moved the ball, got the shots to fall. That was a big turning point for us.”
However, the game’s pace slowed down in the final two minutes. Daeja Wade came up with a steal and finish to make it 44-40 and from there the Lions were forced to foul. The Black Knights returned the favor on the other end of the floor with all of the game’s final six points coming at the free throw line, but Charlottesville getting more opportunities at the stripe to go up by six and wrap up the win.
“We just had to play smart,” Wade said. “It meant a lot to win on senior night. It’s a big game, you’re at home. I’m just glad we did it.”
While the finish was a bit nerve-wracking, the way Charlottesville exploded in the first quarter was impressive. The Lions were up 5-2 to start the first quarter, but a 11-0 run including 3-pointers from Destinee McDonald, Alaijah Ragland and Alexis Henderson opened up the flood gates. Charlottesville kept rolling and went into the second quarter commanding a 19-10 lead.
“We actually came into the game a little nervous but it probably didn’t quite look like it,” McDonald said. “We came in with the mindset that it was senior night, we lost to Louisa once and we’ve got to get it back. We can’t lose on senior night.”
The second quarter was largely a draw with the pace slowing down substantially with both teams racking up fouls. And after an offensive struggle from both in the third, things got interesting quickly after that.
“Unfortunately, we just dug too big of a hole,” Schreck said. “We just have to find a way to put together four quarters. You’ve got to have that if you want to be a good program.”
On the night, Agee led the Lions with her 17 points. She also had seven rebounds and three steals. Ty Skinner had 10 points. DaNikqua Marshall had seven steals. Terriana Neely had eight rebounds and three steals.
For Charlottesville, Ragland finished with a game high 19 points. Wade had 10 points with five of them coming in the fourth quarter. McDonald had six points.
The Lions travel to Western Albemarle on Tuesday while the Black Knights hit the road and play at Fluvanna County with both contests at 7:30 p.m.
