It wasn’t just interesting, it was a head-scratcher.
Although Mountain View held a distinct height advantage at all over the court, the Wildcats seemed happy to settle for long range shots against Albemarle’s zone defense. And as a result, the hosting Patriots were able to run with Mountain View for the game’s first 14 minutes. But something clicked for the Wildcats, and behind a strong finish in the both the second and third quarters, Mountain View was able to keep its perfect Commonwealth District record intact, taking down Albemarle, 66-41.
“I don’t know that we’ve hit that many 3-pointers ever and it’s a good thing we did because it gave us a lead for the second half,” said Mountain View coach Ben Sargent. “But in the second half we finally worked the ball down the baseline and finished inside.”
Both teams patiently worked through their offenses in the first half, working the ball around the perimeter to feel out the zone defenses both squads were running. And while Albemarle was able to saddle the Wildcats with fouls early, settling for 3-pointers didn’t wind up hurting Mountain View as they hit six shots from beyond the arc in the first half.
Albemarle was within just four points of the lead with a few minutes to play before halftime, but Taylor Wells and the Wildcats peeled of a quick 8-0 run to take a double-digit advantage going into the third quarter.
“Our players finally started to listen to what I was trying to tell them all game,” Sargent said. “I told them at halftime and after the game that we’ve got more size than anyone else in the district, but for whatever reason we’re not pounding the ball inside and drawing fouls, we’re shooting 3-pointers. But also, (Albemarle’s) zone was giving us problem.”
Patriots came into the second half looking like a different team as they attacked the basket and started to find success in transition. Kia Fransico was able to scored the first six points of the third quarter to get Albemarle within 6 points, but from that point on, the game belonged to Wells and teammate Alisha Handley.
Mountain View went up by 20 heading into the fourth quarter, and while the Patriots were able roll with the punches from that point forward, the Wildcats would not surrender any portion of their lead down the stretch.
“Despite what the scoreboard said, I was still really proud of our kids for the way they kept fighting,” said Patriots coach Anita Jenkins. “They worked so hard on the floor no matter who was playing. And that’s what we’ve tried to preach to them. There are going to be games where those second efforts will make the difference.”
Wells finished with a game high 20 points and seven rebounds while Handely chipped in 12 points and eight boards. Seven of the Wildcats first 10 field goals were 3-pointers, but the CD’s top team only hit one three in the second half.
“We knew that we couldn’t match up with them playing man-to-man defense,”Jenkins said. “And so with the zone he had to decide whether to gamble inside or outside. We tried to stop them inside and they popped a bunch of 3-pointers. We go to stop their outside game, they go to Well’s inside.”
Francisco led Albemarle with her 15 points. Tamika Lewis put up nine points, while Abby Hendrix contributed six.
Albemarle (5-9, 2-6) will travel to Monticello today at 6 p.m.
