By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
ORANGE — Sparked by its suffocating defense, the Albemarle girls basketball team used a scoring tear that spanned the second and third quarters to surge past Orange County and capture its second straight Conference 16 title on Tuesday night.
The Patriots, who got impressive performances from seniors KK Barbour and Kendra Hairston, were also able to get to the free-throw line early and often to secure the 63-41 victory, their third over the Hornets this season.
With the win, Albemarle earned a first-round bye in the Region 5A North tournament and will host an opponent to be determined on Friday.
“We’ve been really working over the break and into the second half of the season on our defense. With this makeup of girls, they’re better to press half court,” Albemarle coach Rachel Proudfoot said. “They’re rotating well, they’re reading the passes well. We stopped one of their No. 1 scorers and that’s huge. Orange is scrappy, they’re aggressive and we matched that and we made baskets at the same time.”
The teams kept it close throughout the first quarter with neither leading by more than two points.
Orange took a 17-16 lead as Kiki Hudgens dished the ball to Elisha Richardson for the finish with 3:19 to play in the second.
However, the remainder of the quarter belonged to the visitors. The Patriots closed the frame with a 9-0 run, highlighted by a timely 3-pointer from Barbour. The senior standout poured in a game-high 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had five assists.
Albemarle maintained that intensity to open the second half, scoring six unanswered, including a pair of baskets off turnovers from Anne Ridenhour and Brooke McAllister.
The Hornets, playing in front of an electric home crowd, didn’t go quietly, clawing back into it with the help of a pair of 3-pointers late in the quarter. Hannah Brown scored her first points of the game with a trey, then Markiana Smith got a quick steal and passed the ball down court to Deja Wilson, who knocked down another from long-distance range.
With the rowdy student section going wild, Orange cut the deficit to five as Richardson made her way in for a wide open layup.
The Patriots quickly took the wind out of the Hornets’ sails with a free-throw from Hairston and another monster three from Barbour to end the quarter.
“I think it started in the triple overtime game [against Orange] a year ago when she made that huge three to take us into overtime,” Proudfoot said. “Now these last-second shots — everybody knows it’s going in and if it doesn’t it’s a surprise. And they’re tough shots. She’s got a double screen she’s coming off, her feet aren’t set but she’s getting there.”
Just as important as the shots from behind the arc was Barbour’s performance at the foul line. The 6-0 senior made 12 of 16 free throws. In fact, the Patriots pulled away in the fourth as they were near-perfect from the charity stripe, converting 15 of their 17 attempts in the final frame. Albemarle finished 24 of 35 from the line while Orange was 7 of 11.
“Albemarle’s a great team, they have a great coach and they have great players. We just didn’t have enough tonight,” said Orange coach David Rabe, who has guided the program to its first region playoff appearance in over a decade. “Anytime you play a good team, you’ve got to do the little things. We didn’t as much talk about what Albemarle does as what we need to do. We didn’t take care of the ball. They outrebounded us. We weren’t looking for our shot offensively. Things like that we need to do a better job of, and that’s where it kind of unraveled.”
Not to mention the fact that Albemarle limited senior Rebecca Harvey to nine points and starting point guard Hudgens left the game early in the third with an apparent head injury.
Smith paced the Hornets with 13 points and seven rebounds, but no other player reached double digits.
Hairston finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five steals, while Ridenhour tallied six points and three steals.
Orange entertains Mount Vernon in the Region 5A North tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m.
