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Bounce Back: Albemarle girls pick up huge win over Charlottesville

Albemarle girls basketball was in desperate need of a bounce back victory after a sluggish loss to Fluvanna earlier this week.

 

But with Charlottesville coming from down the street, a win was going to be a steep challenge. 

 

The Patriots were up for it, picking up a huge 53-49 victory over the Black Knights. 

 

“It was really important for us to come out and show that we will fight,” said Albemarle sophomore Kaley Maynard.

 

That fight showed early. Albemarle used a strong first half that put the Black Knights in a 27-13 hole at the break, with Amaya Pendleton’s 13 points in the opening half leading the way. Pendleton has continued to show up night in and night out for the Patriots. 

 

“She really carries us on the court — she’s a leader and she just takes it to the hoop every day,” Maynard said. “We really couldn’t be here without her.”

 

But while Pendleton has been strong, the Patriots have struggled to find the secondary scorers necessary to hang with the district’s best squads. That wasn’t an issue against the Black Knights as Lauren Grady chipped in nine first half points en route to a 14-point outing while Maynard closed the door on the Black Knights with 16 points, nine of them in the second half including a 4-for-6 performance at the line in the fourth quarter. With Pendleton bringing another solid outing as she continued a torrid start to the year, the Patriots had enough offense to go with another solid defensive performance. 

 

“We kept saying we need three players in double figures and stepping up on the rebounds,” said Albemarle coach Rachel Proudfoot. “We did not play well against Fluvanna and Fluvanna played very well, but this was a great comeback win for them.”

 

Charlottesville managed to climb out of that halftime hole and tie the game at 27-27 in the third, but Albemarle responded, stopping the bleeding and building a narrow 36-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter. That’s where Maynard helped Albemarle take control, with her and Grady’s ball handling helping the Patriots minimize the damage done by the Black Knights’ press. 

 

“(Kaley’s) edgy — she looks sweet but she gets out there and she definitely adds another edge,” Proudfoot said. “When kids are hand checking she doesn’t really back down from that anymore, she’s playing great.”

 

While Charlottesville still produced its fair share of turnovers, Maynard and Grady helped Albemarle capitalize when it did break it and a big Maggie Lynn 3-pointer in the fourth quarter helped get the Patriots over the top. 

 

Charlottesville still had a shot late but a brutal intentional foul call when the Black Knights were trying to put the Patriots on the line late gave Albemarle the chance to put it away. Maynard hit one of two free throws to push the lad to 52-49 and the Black Knights struggled to get a good shot at the equalizer with under 20 seconds to play as Albemarle made a valiant defensive stand in the closing seconds. 

 

Andrea Lefkowitz and Rayquel Allen led the offense for the Black Knights, with both scoring eight points each in that huge third quarter. Lefkowitz finished with 17 while Allen notched 16. 

 

The Patriots will look to keep the momentum going against Western Monday at home while the Black Knights travel to Fluvanna the same night barring inclement weather impacting the schedule early in the week. 

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