Coming off a huge nail-biting 2-point win against reigning state champions Louisa County, Albemarle’s girls basketball team wanted to keep the momentum going against a very tough 8-1 Charlottesville team at home Friday night.
The Patriots delivered, picking up a 54-45 win over the Black Knights.
Most of the first quarter was tightly contested with both teams struggling to find any kind of continuity offensively but locking down defensively. However, during the last couple of minutes of the first quarter, senior Amaya Pendleton started aggressively driving to the rim, and got to the free throw line.
“We tried to match their tempo,” said Pendleton. “CHS likes to play really fast, and we needed to learn that we needed to play our game. In our game, we take fundamental shots, we slow it down, we push in transition, but we know we want to get our shots, so not playing to them but playing to our strengths, really helped us.”
Pendleton finished the night with 14 points but wasn’t alone in her effort. Freshmen Riley Maynard and Emma Bingler both hit big time 3-pointers that helped Albemarle gain some separation on the scoreboard. Not only was Albemarle dominant from the perimeter, but defensively the Patriots were lights out for most of the game. Albemarle’s presence was also felt strongly on the glass, with the Patriots outrebounding the longer and taller Black Knights by a significant margin.
“When we are actively shooting and selflessly passing, this team could be unstoppable,” said Albemarle head coach Rachel Proudfoot. “We know that we have to use that to our advantage.”
Charlottesville, on the other hand, struggled offensively. The athletic Rayquel Allen led the game in scoring, putting up 19 points, but after that things got thin for the Black Knights in the scoring department. After the first quarter, the Black Knights struggled to keep up with Albemarle. However, Charlottesville was never out of the game, keeping it close with a push in the fourth quarter.
“I’m proud of the fight we showed,” said Charlottesville head coach Jim Daly. “We dug ourselves two big holes; one in each half and fought back each time. You burn through a lot of gas, you burn through a lot of effort each time you dig yourself those kind of holes…I want to be able to push each other, and get used to playing physical and playing hard for longer.”
In the end, Charlottesville couldn’t keep pace with Albemarle, and the Patriots pulled away late, for their second straight huge win at home, completing a big week for Albemarle. They’ll face another big test against Fluvanna County on the road Tuesday night while Charlottesville will look to bounce back the same night hosting Goochland.
