Kate Stutz made it awfully interesting. With just under a minute left to play and her team trailing by two possessions, the Fluvanna County junior swiped an inbounds pass from Albemarle and put up a layup to get the Flucos the closest to closing the gap with the Patriots since the first half. However, as Albemarle did with great success in the first half, it shut the door the on the Flucos at the free throw line to put the victory on ice, 61-56.
“We definitely capitalized at the free throw line particularly at the end,” said Patriots coach Rachel Proudfoot. “I liked that (in the second half) we were able to play as though we were still behind. We just need to stay composed and poised.”
Fluvanna got off to a great start with a 6-0 lead. And while Albemarle struggled from the field early on in the first quarter, the Patriots rallied to make it a 1-point game going into the second, trailing the Flucos 12-11.
The opening minutes of the second saw Albemarle take the lead for good at 21-19 as the Patriots went into the frame already in the bonus, and spent almost the entirety of the quarter shooting free throws. Fluvanna, behind the play of Stutz, Morgan Symmers and Jemika Johnson kept pace but went into the break trailing 35-32.
“The effort was there but the game came down to the fact that (Albemarle) hit their free throws and made the routine baskets underneath and we missed on both of those,” said Fluvanna coach Chad White. “But the effort was there and we have to play that way all the time because of our size.”
Albemarle’s bench got things rolling in the second half with Aneesha Debruhl and Quinn Graves contributing significant minutes and production to aid KK Barbour and Kendra Hairston — both of whom had big games. The Patriots held a 5-point lead heading into the fourth and went up by as many as nine points with just over three minutes to play.
“Our bench played awesome and that’s something we’re definitely going to need,” Proudfoot said. “Our leaders, they need some rest too. So I thought the bench play was excellent and that allowed our starters to finish the game at the line.”
Needing a spark, the Flucos got just that from Kianna Childress who led Fluvanna to a 6-0 in a two minute span to make it 55-51 to set the table for Stutz’s big steal. However, with the Patriots handling their business at the free throw line, that was the end.
“That was just a game with a lot of back-and-forth,” Hairston said. “When we got ahead our coaches told us ‘Hey, you guys are up, you don’t have to rush.’ So we just tried to slow it down and run our plays.”
Stutz and Barbour had a great back-and-forth as they squared off against each other on both ends of the court. Barbour led all scorers with 19 points while also hauling in 14 rebounds and coming up with four steals. Stutz answered with a line of 16 points, 14 rebounds and five steals.
Hairston also had an impressive showing while sporting a knee brace, spending a lot of time in the paint for Albemarle — a different role than the one she played in previous seasons. She finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
“Since (my injury) Coach Proudfoot has been trying to get me down on the block a bit,” Hairston said. “She wants me to be involved but also to not put too much pressure on my knee. So I’m playing a bit more like (a forward) now but it feels pretty good.”
Graves gave the Patriots three different players in double figures with her 10 points. Debruhl finished with nine points. Virginia McAllister had seven points and six rebounds.
For Fluvanna, Childress finished strong with 14 points and four steals. Symmers had eight points and seven rebounds. Johnson chipped in six points.
Albemarle (2-1) hosts Charlottesville on while Fluvanna (2-2) hosts Orange, both on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
