Fluvanna County started slow in the first quarter against Goochland and senior KeKe Davis barked out a short, specific order to her teammates — “we haven’t run a play yet.”
Shortly after Davis let her feelings be known, the Flucos started executing on offense and with help from a suffocating press Fluvanna rolled to a 66-46 win over the Bulldogs.
“We played really hard, we played good defense and got the ball ahead,” Davis said. “We waited for good open shots and we did really well tonight.”
The Flucos’ Alana Carter-Johnston poured in 29 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win. Her entrance into the lineup earlier this week has changed the equation for the Flucos, giving Fluvanna (1-3) the kind of true point guard that Nevaeh Ivory gave Fluvanna for several seasons before graduating last year. When paired with fellow speedster Aniah Webb in the backcourt, Fluvanna can get up and down the court fast.
“Once we get out in transition, you’re not catching either one of them,” said Fluvanna coach Nick Ward. “Those two were huge, I think they kind of turned the game for us in the first half.”
Webb made her impact felt late in the first half with a sequence where she had a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a bucket and seconds later stole the ball and scored. That kickstarted a push that helped Fluvanna build a 31-22 halftime lead. Carter-Johnston had 16 of those 31 in the first half.
Goochland (1-2) stayed within striking distance throughout the third quarter trailing just 43-34 at the end of the third thanks to Gabby Ragone and Emily Paulin. Paulin scored six in the third quarter while Ragone kept the pressure on the Flucos with some tenacious defense and finished with a team-high 16 points.
“She’s a senior guard and she’s never going to quit,” said Goochland coach James Harris. “She’s going to leave it all on the court.”
Jenika Carter knocked down a 3-pointer in the fourth for Goochland, but the wheels came off shortly thereafter for the Bulldogs. That’s when Carter-Johnston ripped off 10 fourth quarter points, Abby Seal knocked down a three and hit three free throws to round out her 13-point night while Davis scored all seven of her points in the final frame and had 12 rebounds on the night.
“(Davis) had big baskets at the right time and a lot of rebounds,” Ward said. “She causes a lot of problems for other teams and it was big for her on senior night to not only win but play as well as she did.”
That 23-point finish in the fourth showed how quickly the offense has gotten on track since 10 days ago when the Flucos struggled in a loss to Orange County.
Taylor Whittfield scored 10 for the Bulldogs while Paulin finished with 11.
Allyson Crothers, another senior for Fluvanna, finished with seven points including a pair of 3-pointers.
Both squads face a quick turnaround with the Flucos hosting Monticello Friday night while Goochland is slated to play Maggie Walker tomorrow.
