Fluvanna County’s girls basketball team was short on options Monday night in their home clash with Albemarle. Then coach Nick Ward took another potential choice off the table.
“I told them in the fourth quarter being tired wasn’t an option,” Ward said.
The Flucos bonded together down the stretch and held off a charge by the Patriots to win 64-54 with Alana Carter-Johnston leading the way with 22 points while Aniah Webb chipped in 17.
“This was a huge win,” Ward said. “Abby (Seal) was out tonight, Ikeena (Spruill) was out tonight and Jaylan (Booker) got hurt in the first half. We showed a lot of grit and toughness winning three games in the last four days.”
Those injuries and absences left Fluvanna County with eight potential players against an Albemarle team that has been red hot lately outside of a loss to Mills Godwin Saturday. The Flucos were up to the task, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to hold off Albemarle.
Fluvanna led just 11-10 at the end of the first quarter but exploded for 21 points in the second quarter with Carter-Johnston scoring 10 of them. Elena Benson, Taty Turner and Webb also chipped in during that run to push the Fluvanna lead to 32-20 at the break.
With Amaya Pendleton pouring in 13 of her game high 25 in the third quarter, Albemarle sliced into the Fluvanna lead and trailed by seven going into the fourth.
Fluvanna cranked it back up again and held on for the win, going 9-for-11 as a team from the free throw line in the final frame. Turner went 4-for-4 at the line on her own.
Kaley Maynard finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers for the Patriots.
The Flucos’ win is a significant one in the Jefferson District as it opens a door for Louisa County, the defending district champs, to win an outright championship if they can beat Albemarle in the squads’ rematch.
Both teams face a quick turnaround with Fluvanna hosting Charlottesville Tuesday night while Albemarle hosts Goochland.
