By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplay.com contributor
PALMYRA — One measure of a good team is how it responds to adversity. Charlottesville’s girls basketball team passed that test with flying colors on Tuesday night in a road contest against Fluvanna County.
Trailing by six with under four minutes remaining, the Black Knights clamped down on defense and converted a pair of critical baskets en route to a 46-41 victory over the Flucos.
“We let it slip away, and I thought our girls responded well,” said Charlottesville coach Jim Daly, whose team held a 10-point advantage at halftime. “We’ve had some tough games where it was hard for us to respond and I thought we really stuck together and picked each other up. We knew they’re really good at stalling when they’re up so we didn’t have to worry about that for a little bit because of our jump shot.”
A three-pointer by Bri Harris gave Fluvanna its largest lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter.
However, Alaijah Ragland got a quick steal and converted a pair of free throws to cut the lead to four with 3:33 remaining. Dyshe Smith followed that with a short jumper and the rally was on.
After a Charlottesville turnover, Fluvanna’s Alena Puaauli-Pelham drove to the basket and drew the foul, making one of two free throws to give the Flucos a 41-38 advantage. The freshman guard finished with seven points, all of which came in the second half.
But the visitors answered with a basket from Kajesha Taylor with two minutes to play. Fluvanna was able to move the ball efficiently and burn the clock on its following possession, but failed to convert a layup with over a minute remaining.
The Black Knights (9-4, 6-0) immediately capitalized, as Alexis Henderson drained a long-range jumper to give her team its first lead since the third quarter.
Ragland was able to draw the foul on Charlottesville’s next drive and made a free throw before getting a steal and layup on the fastbreak play to seal the win.
“We are trying to be more consistent, but the thing is, you can’t coach consistency, so we’re trying to get off to good starts,” Fluvanna coach Chad White said. “We were down 10 at the half and I thought we had to play with a little more energy. They came out and played with discipline up until about three minutes to go in the fourth. We had a six-point lead and we unraveled.”
Charlottesville was able to gain a sizeable lead in the first half thanks to strong perimeter shooting. Destinee McDonald, who hit four 3-pointers, led all scorers with 15 points. The Black Knights made six threes in the first half. Ragland also reached double digits with 13 points.
“We really shot the ball well in the first half and moved the ball well against their zone,” Daly added. “We had a lot of confidence off that. I thought [Destinee] made really good decisions too — she knew when to look for her shot, when to set up teammates and she definitely carried us through tough stretches there.”
Fluvanna (6-6, 4-2) got back into the game largely because of inside play from Kate Stutz. The senior forward scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the second quarter and grabbed seven rebounds.
Charlottesville visits Monticello on Friday, while Fluvanna travels to Louisa County Thursday night.
