By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Midway through the first quarter in Thursday night’s Region II, Division 3 semifinal, Monticello coach Josh McElheny called timeout with his squad in an eight-point hole. Heritage came out of the gates with an aggressive press that deflected passes and forced a string of turnovers. With dominant defensive rebounding by Pride seniors Breana Smart and Kayla Tibbs, the top-seeded Mustangs needed to re-group.
“We got off to a slow start, maybe a little hangover from the other night,” McElheny said. “That was probably one of the most athletic teams we’ve played this year, just all the way around. We just had to do some different things, and had to work really hard on being strong with the basketball.”
Monticello gradually solved the Heritage attack behind the gritty play of sophomore forward Molly Shephard and senior guard Bridget Holleran to clinch the first VHSL State Tournament berth in program history with a 50-40 win.
“This was the first team that has full-court pressured us the whole season,” said Holleran. “They were very aggressive, which was good. We need to have that kind of competition and fight through it.”
Coming out of their mid-first quarter timeout, the Mustangs settled things down by feeding the ball inside and drawing fouls. Monticello was in the bonus from the 2:52 mark; however, they shot just 3 for 10 from the line in the quarter. Despite leaving points on the floor, Monticello pulled even with an 8-0 run.
“I think we had pre-game jitters,” Holleran said. “Once we figured out that we could compete with this team and beat them, we knew we should get the win.”
Bodies continued flying in the second quarter as both coaches pleaded for calls from the sideline. The crew from the Bull Run Association in northern Virginia tolerated significant contact while still calling 20 fouls in the first half. Monticello’s Shephard was the most frequent visitor to the foul line, where she converted 4 of her 6 in the period.
“They definitely let them go after it,” said McElheny. “They let it be physical. That was a tough way to play basketball.”
The Mustangs opened a two-possession margin midway through the second thanks to two field goals by Holleran and one each from Meghan Comer and Emily Larrabee. When post player Reagan Roberts was forced to the bench with her third foul inside the last minute, freshman Allie Perez fired up the home crowd by scoring an inside bucket to send Monticello into halftime with a 23-18 lead.
“We wanted to apply early pressure, see if we could get some turnovers and get an early lead,” said Heritage coach Rob Smart. “We were able to do that. They started making some shots, figuring out our press. We tried to adjust and we couldn’t.”
Monticello started hot in the third with a bucket by Shephard and a steal-and-score by Comer, her first of three baskets in the quarter. Holleran improved the Mustangs’ free throw percentage by sinking all four of her attempts. Monticello built a nine-point lead entering the fourth, and it ballooned as high as 13 with 4:50 left when Holleran grabbed an offensive rebound and scored the put back while falling to the floor. As Heritage cut the margin back to single digits, Larrabee, the Mustangs’ senior forward, sank four straight free throws.
Foul trouble caught up with Heritage down the stretch. Senior guard Breana Smart fouled out with 4:08 to go. With 1:00 remaining, Tibbs, Heritage’s leading scorer and rebounder, fouled out too.
Shephard posted a double-double with a game-high 15 points and 14 rebounds. Holleran added 13 and Comer tallied 10 for the Mustangs. Tibbs led the Pride with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Monticello (22-2) rides a 17-game winning streak into the Region II Championship game on Saturday night, where it will face Western for the third time this season. The winner will host the Region I runner-up at JMU in a state quarterfinal, while the loser must travel to the Region I champion’s designated Supersite for a quarterfinal matchup. Brunswick hosts Poquoson in the Region I final on Friday night.
“To end the season going to states is amazing,” said Holleran, who was also “psyched” to draw Western in Saturday night’s championship. “I wouldn’t want to play anyone else in the last Region game.”
