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Western seniors reap rewards in win over Albemarle

Photo by Julia Haws

There may only be two seniors on the Western Albemarle girls basketball team but they’ve seen a lot in their four years.

 

“Those two stuck with it all the way through,” said Western coach Kris Wright. “Tonight they get to reap the reward of sticking with it.”

 

Julia Haws came up as a freshman and was part of a squad that went to the state quarterfinals. Then when Natalie Marbury joined the varsity, she and Haws endured two tough seasons for the Warriors including last year’s injury-riddled campaign.

 

But this season? Things have been much different, and that ride continued with a 39-24 victory over Albemarle Friday night on senior night for the Warriors.

 

“It’s been really cool to see each and every one of us grow from that,” Haws said. “The adversity we’ve faced, we’ve all come together and we play together really well. They’re just a fun group of girls and I love playing with them a lot.”

 

Marbury, who has stuck with the Warriors through those two tough years while improving drastically as a player, she’s aware of just how special this campaign has been as the Warriors finish the regular season at 12-10.

 

“It’s amazing because it has been so tough and (Julia and I) have been through it together and I think we have a special bond in that way,” Marbury said. “I told my teammates in there this is my favorite team I’ve ever been a part of.”

 

Western’s defense was the key against the Patriots as they held Albemarle to just 10 first half points and then just 14 after the break.

 

“We’ve steadily gotten better on the defensive end throughout the year,” Wright said. “Over there (in the first meeting with AHS) they really punished us, they drove the lanes, they rebounded the ball, they got to the free throw line. They made us go zone of all things, which I don’t like to do with this group. Tonight, we handled our business … we contained the drives, we rebounded better…so a major turnaround from their place to now in terms of where we’ve grown defensively.”

 

The Warriors’ offense did enough from there with Eleri Hayden and Elizabeth Coffman carrying Western. Hayden scored 13 points to lead the Warriors and Coffman finished with 12 points. Haws chipped in seven points.

 

Makinna Winterton led the Patriots with six points, with all six coming in the fourth quarter. Fellow freshman Haylee Howard-Radde finished with five points. Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper chipped in four points.

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