Albemarle withstands Western rally

Albemarle held a double-digit lead in the third quarter and held off a late Western Albemarle rally to hold on for a 42-39 victory over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Kara Elder and junior Kya Francisco each scored nine points to pace the Patriots, who were coming off a tough loss at Colonial Forge on Friday night.

“I was very curious how the girls were going to bounce back,” said Albemarle coach Anita Jenkins. “I thought there were spurts where we could’ve done a little bit better, but I think overall we showed the defensive tenacity that we needed to show, and that created offense for us.”

Despite scoring just five points in the second quarter, Albemarle took a 17-15 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, the Patriots picked up the intensity on defense. Elder, who ended the first half with a 3-pointer, scored six straight points to start the third quarter, part of a 10-1 Albemarle run that put the Patriots up by 11.

Western cut into the lead, thanks to patient team basketball, and sophomore forward Carolyn Schneller connected on high-percentage shots and drew fouls to earn trips to the free throw stripe.

“[Friday] night against Louisa, [Schneller] was just upset with how she played,” said Western coach Kris Wright. “She didn’t think she played very well. When she got her chance today, she came through, and that’s a really good sign for a sophomore.”

Schneller, who scored 11 points, hit one of two free throws with 3:06 to play to give the Warriors confidence, as well as a 33-32 lead. From there, the game would come down to foul shots for the Patriots, who went nine for 14 from the stripe in the fourth quarter.

“We practice [free throws] every day,” Jenkins said, “and they’re in a situation where they have to make them in practice, so it pays off.”

Francisco, who scored five points over the final minute and a half, hit two big free throws with 27 seconds left to give Albemarle a 41-37 lead. Western’s Kelsey Swanson, who also scored 11 points, hit a jumper with 16 seconds left to make it 41-39.

Abby Hendrix was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit one of two free throws to push the lead back to three, but Western was then called for a 5-second inbound violation. The Warriors almost got one more crack at it as they stole the inbounds pass, but traveled in the process, and the Patriots ran out the clock.

Albemarle (3-2, 0-2 CD) will try to get into the win column in district play next week, as the Patriots will travel to Massaponax on Friday, then host Mountain View the next day.

Western Albemarle (3-3, 1-0) will get a week off before it hosts R.E. Lee on Monday, Dec. 22. Wright is aware that his team is growing, learning, and gaining experience.

“The three games we’ve lost, we’ve gotten behind too early, and then have to fight back the whole time,” he said. “It’s a good sign that we fight back, but we have to take care of things early in the game so that we’re in a better position late.”