That Western Albemarle was able to pull itself back into the game after trailing significantly against perennial power Robert E. Lee, a team that the Warriors fell to by 22 points back in December proved coach Kris Wright’s point. There were no tears or sniffles in the post game press conference, and understandably so.
“This group has been an amazing group,” Wright said. “This is the farthest (this school) has ever been, to the state semifinals and we showed that we belonged. That was a one-possesion game in the last 1:20.”
The Warriors came just a few plays away from gutting out a chance to play in the state championship game, but clutch free throw shooting and a timely rebound down the stretch wound up keeping them from that as Western fell to the Leemen, 50-44 in the Group AA Division 3 semifinals.
“They don’t ask how many you won by, they just ask how many you won,” said Lee coach Jeremy Hartman. “At this point it’s just survive and advance.”
While Western got off to a great start in the first quarter by taking an early 5-point lead, the second quarter wound up being too much to overcome in the end. Down three going into the second, Lee broke loose on a 16-4 run behind outside shooting from Chanel Maddox, penetration from Angela Mickens and strong post play from DaQuaa Scott. The Leeman outscored Western 18-7 in the frame to take a 9-point lead going into the break.
After struggling with free throws and turnovers in the first half and the first few minutes of the second, Western was able to mend its wounds and get to work on chipping away at the lead midway though the third quarter. Ellen Shaffrey had a quiet first half because of foul trouble, but the senior blew up after halftime, particularly on the glass as she collected one rebound after another. With Raven Ward helping to carry the load on offense, the two were able to trim what was as much as a 12-point deficit down to five points going into the fourth, thanks in large part to a trap imposed when Mickens went to the bench.
“If we could have taken the lead there instead of just getting back into it there, who knows what (might have happened),” Wright said. “We couldn’t quite get over the lead hump during that stretch.”
Both teams entered the fourth in serious foul trouble. Early in the period Western senior forward Carolyn Schneller fouled out, and Lee’s Mickens and Scott each picked up their fourth fouls. Mady Baker made it a 4-point contest on a 3-pointer with 6:19 to set up a back and forth finish.
The Leemen reinflated their lead back to eight points with four minutes to play, but Shaffrey, Kelsey Swanson and Sidney Fewell sparked a 6-0 run from Western over the next 90 seconds to get the Warriors to within two points of the lead.
After a free throw from Scott made it a 3-point game with just over two minutes to play, Western tried to the game on a 3-pointer, but came up short. The Warriors were then forced to send Lee to the line. Scott knocked down a front end free throw with a minute to go, and missed the back end, but watched as teammate Kemani Crawford came away with an offensive rebound. Crawford was immediately fouled, knocked down both her foul shots, and that was the end of all scoring.
“That was a big rebound for us there,” Hartman said. “We were in a good spot I thought after we made that first free throw and then Kemani came down with a rebound and that pretty much won the game for us.”
Mickens led all scorers with her 16 point game. Scott was the games top rebounder with 19 boards to go with her 13 points. Maddox finished with 10 points on a pair of 3-pointers and was 3 for 3 from the field.
For Western, Shaffrey and Ward each tied for a team best 11 points. Shaffrey also added 18 rebounds. Ward had five rebounds and three steals. Swanson was the game’s top passer with eight assists. Schneller finished with six points and five rebounds despite missing much of the game because of foul trouble. Baker put in five points and three steals.
“The seniors, the five of them (Shaffrey, Swanson, Schneller, Ward and Christine Fortner) have put so much into this over the last three years, it’s been amazing,” Wright said.
When those seniors were freshmen, the Warriors made to the Region II tournament under then coach Jason Barnett. In Wright’s third year as coach, the Class of 2012 put Western in unchartered territory.
“I was on that regional team as a freshman and it was a big deal but I really feel like I didn’t get to really experience it,” Shaffrey said. “This year, the seniors, we feel like it was what we did, our hard work that got us here. So it just feels good.”
R.E. Lee advances to play the team Western fell to in the Region II finals, Millbrook, in the state title game.
