Albemarle falls in district showdown

Hosting unbeaten Mountain View, the Albemarle girls team needed to play fundamental basketball if it hoped to keep pace with a deep Wildcats team on Saturday afternoon.

The teams went back and forth until midway through the second quarter when Mountain View went on a run to close out the half.

Albemarle was unable to recover, and faltered down the stretch as the Wildcats won convincingly, 56-36.

“I think we didn’t have the defensive intensity that we had in the first quarter,” Albemarle coach Anita Jenkins said. “I think we had a breakdown in fundamentals.”

Four of Albemarle’s starting five finished with four points or less — only Laura Gomez reached double digits. She led all scorers with 14 points.

Albemarle’s only other offensive threat came off of the bench in Kristin Degnan. The junior guard was one of a few bright spots, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and finishing with eight points.

“That was her role — to come in and shoot those threes when they went into their zone defense,” Jenkins said.

The Patriots had trouble with guard Taylor Wells and forward Alisha Hardley on both ends of the court. Wells led Mountain View with 12 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Hardley had 10 points to go along with nine rebounds.

“We came down here and it’s a long bus ride,” Wells said. “So we just had to win this because we couldn’t come down here and not get the win. It was important for us to get to 8-0.”

Up seven at the half after a 10-2 run late in the second quarter, the Wildcats (8-0, 4-0 Commonwealth) appeared vulnerable as each of their starters had at least two fouls. However, Mountain View’s bench showed its depth as they contributed 14 points.

“We have a very experienced group that helps in those situations,” said Wildcats coach Cessy Sullivan. “I don’t lose a whole lot when I put my bench in, so that’s been a real positive thing. You don’t find that very often in the girls’ game.”

The Wildcats opened up a permanent double-digit lead when the Patriots (4-4, 1-3) started turning the ball over. Mountain View turned the Patriots’ miscues into points, and more often than not, in transition.

“We just picked it up more defensively,” Wells said. “First couple of quarters, we were lazy. We talked about that and got the defense to get going. That’s where we get our points.”

After watching the way her team played down the stretch, Jenkins is convinced that her players need to rally together.

“You can say let’s go again and again but I think it has to come from within,” Jenkins said of her team’s energy level. “They need to get after each other in practice, and we just need to practice better.”

Albemarle travels to Monticello on Monday at 6 p.m.