Fluvanna County’s girls basketball team has been a work in progress this year with an almost entirely rebuilt lineup.
That work took a big leap forward Friday night as the Flucos avenged a loss to Western just six days ago with a 54-37 victory over the Warriors in Palmyra. The Flucos built a 20-point lead before halftime and withstood a Western charge in the second half.
“I told the kids at the half that Kris (Wright, Western’s coach) is too good of a coach with a great program not to make a run,” said Fluvanna coach Nick Ward. “When they made that run in the fourth quarter to cut it to 12, Aniah and Alana really came up big.”
Fluvanna’s sophomore guards Alana Carter-Johnston and Aniah Webb did the heavy offensive lifting with Webb leading the way with 19 points while Carter-Johnston scored 17 including a pair of 3-pointers. With Webb and Carter-Johnston book clicking, the Flucos have one of the area’s fastest backcourts.
“(Webb and Carter-Johnston) really came up big getting a couple of steals and deflections and turning them into transition points,” Ward said. “Then Alana found a wide open Abby Seal for three in transition. She knocked it down and it broke their run they were on.”
KeKe Davis-Heinrich also had a strong night, scoring 11 points for the Flucos as the senior continues her emergence as a post force this year. With two threes from Abby Seal, there was enough offense to carry the Flucos while holding the Warriors to under 40 points.
Western got 11 points from Mattie Shearer, but the bulk of her scoring came in the fourth quarter with the Warriors trailing. Ava Ewen chipped in six points for Western.
Western faces a quick turnaround with a road game against Monticello Saturday afternoon while Fluvanna will travel to take on the Mustangs Tuesday.
