Most seniors say it, few manage to deliver on it.
“Knowing it (could) be our last game, I felt like I had to step it up,” said Western Albemarle girls basketball senior Virginia Carew. “I didn’t want the season to end.”
Carew personally made sure it didn’t, leading the Warriors with 12 points, a rare role for the sharpshooting guard who usually gives way to Western’s array of post players in the scoring column. Carew’s night was good enough to lift the Warriors to a 39-32 victory over Skyline High in the Region II, Division 3 quarterfinals in Crozet Wednesday night.
“She was a unanimous pick as a captain — top to bottom they wanted her to be one of her leaders,” said Western coach Kris Wright. “She led them in the scoring column tonight because that’s what she needed.”
Carew, who also managed four steals, hit two of her three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, which squashed any hopes of a comeback for Skyline. Carew’s shooting was a necessity as the Hawks clamped down on Western’s frontcourt with a 2-3 zone from the second quarter on. That slowed the pace of the game to a grinding halt, which plays into the hands of the patient, methodical Warriors squad.
“They left the backside open so those skip passes were there and Virginia made enough of those to make it interesting,” Wright said.
Western’s defense held Skyline to just two points in the third quarter, limiting the chances for sophomore guard Taylor Henry who lit the Warriors up for 17 of her team’s 19 points in the first half. Henry finished with 23 points for the game, accounting for nearly 72 percent of her team’s total offense.
Despite Skyline’s focus on shutting down Western underneath, Ellen Shaffrey finished with four points, 11 rebounds and a steal while point guard Kelsey Swanson had eight points, six assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. The fact that Warriors were able to snag a win without Shaffrey putting up big numbers in points says a great deal about the squad’s depth.
“We can win without her scoring as long as the rest of us do our jobs and be willing to take shots, particularly jumpers,” Wright said.
With the win, Western secures a third shot at Fluvanna County, who beat Western twice already, winning a tight regular season contest and an equally close Jefferson District tournament final. As has been the case before, expect a lot of defense when those two squads hit the floor Thursday night at 7 p.m.
