Needing just 10 points to break the 1,000 career point mark, Sam Brunelle and William Monroe handled the simple part of the game early, almost as if to get it over with and on to the greater matter at hand – beating Strasburg. With 10 straight points including a step-back three pointer from Brunelle that gave her the milestone as just a sophomore (and more on that in a second) and the lead, the Dragons came out of the break in play and put together a second quarter where they gave up just one point to the Rams to pave the way for a 41-32 win.
“I thought we brought more energy in the second because we were a bit shaky in the first,” Brunelle said. “We saw that and reacted the way we needed to.”
For Dragons coach Jess Stafford, the entire night turned into a win-win scenario. Not only did the team’s star player get over the mark, but she poured in 27 points to lead the way in a game that was never out of reach. But on top of that, it was a game where the team’s defense, a theme these last two weeks, simply took over. By outscoring the Rams 8-1 in the second quarter, Monroe went into the half up 20-9. And while the Dragons went up by as many as 15 in the second half, Strasburg kept fighting but never got to closer than nine points of the lead.
“All we did in practice yesterday was continue to work defensively,” Stafford said. “Maybe we suffered a bit offensively because of that but I feel like the more we keep focusing on the defensive end, the better it’s going to get. We have offensive weapons, ones that teams don’t have. We can shore that up anytime and I think pretty easily. But right now we’re working so hard on defense and we’re executing. That’s something we want to continue going into the postseason.”
With a buzz growing in the first quarter as Brunelle worked her way towards becoming a 1K scorer in just her sophomore year, much less, just her 40th game. She is the first sophomore in Central Virginia since Charlottesville’s Andrea Barbour to accomplish this and she broke Barbour’s race to 1,000 points by seven days, as the former Black Knight hit her first thousand points on January 26 of 2005. But that thousandth point coming on that the 3-pointer, that put Monroe up 10-8 and as such had greater meaning than just, the lead as it lead up to some breathing room shortly after.
“I’m just thankful for the teammates and coaches that I have because they’re the ones helping me get to goals, even outside of this one, hitting 1,000 points,” Brunelle said. “To get there and lose a game, you’d feel a little less excited. To win and get here is much better.”
After that, it was an almost flawless, albeit low scoring second quarter for the Dragons. And in the 3rd, Monroe saw Brunelle attack the paint, knock down free throws and the defense continue to keep Strasburg at bay with the game never getting closer than a 3-possession margin.
On the night, Brunelle had 27 points and eight rebounds to go with four steals and three blocks. Dajour Strother finished with six rebounds. Kristin Shifflett and Lindsay Knights both had five points. Kristin Manz added three steals and rebounds.
