It took Chad White and Fluvanna County a little longer than he thought it might, but a Jefferson District tournament title was worth that wait.
“We’ve been working toward this ever since I took over,” White said. “I thought we would have it in four years and it’s coming in the fifth year, and that’s fine, just one year late.”
The Flucos picked up the tournament title in a defensive struggle with Western Albemarle, winning 38-33 in the final at Monticello High Friday in a game that was a mirror image of the first meeting of the two teams.
Western managed to cut the lead to three points in the closing minutes on a five-point burst by Virginia Carew that included a 3-pointer. But Fluvanna hit just enough free throws and Western failed to come up with another basket in the final seconds.
In a game with three of the Jefferson District’s first team players involved — Fluvanna’s Mia Loyd and K-anna Loyd as well as Western’s Ellen Shaffrey—the best run of offense came from an unlikely source. Millicent Williams, who finished with seven points, knocked in six of them in the second quarter during a critical run by the Flucos. Williams hit a jumper that put Fluvanna up 17-6 and even though Western answered with six straight points, that cushion was enough for the Flucos to hold the Warriors at bay the rest of the night.
“I’ve been telling her that you’ve got to score,” White said. “When she plays like that she’s the key. I told her, you have to be a threat because it takes some of the scoring load off Mia and K-anna.”
It was the steady defense that ruled the night on both ends though. Each squad neutralized the other team’s strengths, with Western holding K-anna Loyd, who got into some foul trouble in the second quarter, without a field goal until the fourth quarter while also holding Mia Loyd to just 11, well under her average. That forced Ashleigh Harris, Millicent Williams and Sarah Ryan to come up with many of the Flucos’ key buckets.
“You have to be really patient (against the Western defense) because you know no one isn’t perfect and everyone is going to make mistakes,” Williams said. “You have to be able to pick up on your teammates’ mistakes.”
On the other end, Fluvanna managed to stifle the Warriors, with no Western player crossing into double figures.
“Their help side defense is almost always in the right spot,” said Western coach Kris Wright. “When you get an opening you have to take advantage of it because they’re few and far between and I think the kids get rushed sometimes, like ‘oh wow, I’m open.”
Still, Western’s post trio of Shaffrey, Carolyn Schneller and Raven Ward kept the Warriors alive with a strong performance on the boards. Shaffrey hauled in 13 rebounds, while Schneller and Ward combined for 13 as well. Ward had three blocks.
Mady Baker gave Western one of the highlights of the night with a long range 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter. The sophomore, who missed most of her freshman year with a concussion and has come on strong in the second half of the year, finished with seven points on the night.
Both Western and Fluvanna will play in the Region II tournament, along with William Monroe who will also get in the mix. Fluvanna, the No. 1 seed, will get a bye next week, while Western will likely play a first round home game Tuesday.
