The game was over at the tipoff and that’s not a slight to Randolph Henry, just simply the facts as the Statesmen came into the James River District quarterfinals dealing with roster-wide off the court issues.
In the process, Buckingham got a chance to work in their entire bench and keep their starters fresh as the top seed rolled to a 64-7 victory.
“It was one of those games where you just try and get everyone some action and make sure nobody gets hurt,” said Buckingham coach Ethan Abruzzo. “With all the breaks because of weather before and then with what we have this week it’s kind of hard to get into a rhythm but that’s what we’re trying to do. I feel like we came out focused.”
Behind freshmen Kristen Gough, Shae Hurt and Micaila Coleman, the Knights rolled to a 29-2 lead in the first quarter as they hauled in seemingly every rebound, forced turnover after turnover and did whatever they wanted offensively, inside and outside.
“We set up our press in the first and were just able to execute,” Gough said. “Once we got the lead though, we tried to pull back some.”
It didn’t take long for Abruzzo to sit his starters, but the results weren’t all that much different when his bench worked its way in as Tammara Lewis and company continued to play strong defense and went to work on the clock. The Knights went into the break up 38-2 and only gave up two more field goals the rest of the way through to wrap up the win.
“This is exciting because it’s so different from last year,” Gough said. “It’s a complete turnaround to go from last place to first place. We don’t have individuals this year. We’ve got real teamwork.”
On the night, Hurt led all scorers with 14 while Gough was close behind with 13. Lewis finished with nine points. Nine different Knights found their way into the scorebook.
Buckingham (18-2) will host Goochland Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Knights won both regular season meetings.
