Albemarle’s returners had run the defense played against Western Albemarle before Friday night. But until Thursday, the Patriots hadn’t installed it this year and with a ton of new faces in key roles — that could’ve been an issue.
It wasn’t.
Albemarle picked up a huge 48-34 win in both squads’ Jefferson District opener, throwing a wrench into the Warriors’ offense with a pressure-oriented, trapping defense.
“We ran a defense that we just put in for the first time last night but we made some really good decisions,” said Albemarle coach Rachel Proudfoot. “Our young kids are really tenacious — they’re gritty.”
That defensive effort paid off because one of those freshmen, Sylvie Jackson, played well offensively too, scoring 14 points. Sophomore Amaya Pendelton finished with 12 points and senior Erin Strider chipped in eight points.
Albemarle built a 10-4 lead over the Warriors in the first quarter and by halftime led 19-14. In the fourth quarter, Albemarle really started to pull away, putting the game away at the free-throw line. Albemarle went 12-for-15 at the line, with freshman Lauren Grady going 4-for-4 and Strider going 4-for-6 to power the effort. The Patriots handled the intensity of the moment well to take care of business in the fourth.
“We’re missing some kids so I was proud of everybody who just came together as a team,” Proudfoot said. “They’re not afraid.”
Western struggled to do the little things that usually define their play and approach, though Sydney Sherman, finished with 15 points and Caity Driver notched another eight.
“They were not who we are as a program tonight,” said Western coach Kris Wright. “We have to be great defensively and we were okay, not great. We have to do better taking care of the ball and we didn’t. We have to execute stuff and we didn’t. Albemarle caused a lot of that, we just didn’t adjust very well to it.”
The pressure created by Albemarle’s defensive approach impacted a group of Western guards that’s still adjusting to Elisabeth Coffman’s graduation that left a major hole to fill in the Warriors’ backcourt after her four years as a starter.
Albemarle will look to keep things rolling next Friday on the road against Charlottesville while Western will try and bounce back against Monticello on the road the same night.
