Black Knights get rolling, beat Orange

ORANGE — With the game hanging in the balance, Charlottesville turned to its senior floor leader, Shawntae Payne in the final minutes of its Jefferson District matchup against Orange County, and the point guard delivered.
Payne scored seven straight points and had a critical steal in the final minute to help the Black Knights take control and secure the 50-44 road win.
“That’s what a senior does, she’s supposed to take that leadership role and take over,” said Charlottesville coach Harry Terrell.
With the game tied at 42-42, Payne, who poured in a game-high 25 points, took her game to another level. With just under a minute to play, the speedy guard made a nice move around her defender to get the basket inside and give her team the lead. Payne converted four straight free throws before coming up with a steal with 18 seconds remaining. She was quickly sent to the free-throw line again where she made one of two to help seal the victory.
“She took over — she’s a great player, she’s a very seasoned, experienced point guard,” said Orange coach Lauren Luck. “She’s very difficult to stop and we didn’t stop her. That’s pretty much it.”
Charlottesville (7-3, 4-0 JD) got the win without another senior leader, Shalita Brown, who suffered a knee injury (MCL) against Fluvanna County last week. Brown is scheduled to undergo another MRI on her left knee on Monday, and Terrell said he wasn’t sure when she’d return to the court.
In Brown’s absence, the Black Knights got key contributions from several players other than Payne, including freshman London Todd, who made her presence felt inside with 10 rebounds and 13 points. She helped CHS outrebound Orange 34-24 despite playing much of the second half with three fouls. Ellie Von Storch added eight points for the Black Knights, who stayed unbeaten in the district with the win.
Orange dropped its second straight district game, but stayed in the game until the last few minutes. In fact, the teams traded baskets much of the fourth quarter as neither team could get much of an advantage.
Senior Christina Harvey finished with a team-high 18 points to lead Orange, but she didn’t have much help on the offensive end. Jasmine Johnson added nine and Micalah Sacre came off the bench to score seven.