Charlottesville’s state run ends in loss to Loudoun

RICHMOND — In the previous meeting between Charlottesville and Loudoun County this season, the Black Knights kept it close for three quarters before the Raiders pulled away to capture the Region II, Division 4 title.

Well, the Raiders took no chances of Tuesday night’s Group AA, Division 4 semifinal coming down to the wire as they broke to an early lead and cruised to a dominant win over the Black Knights at VCU’s Siegel Center.

The Raiders, who devised a defensive scheme to shut down Charlottesville stars Shawntae Payne and Tanyqua Williams, executed their game plan perfectly and let the offense do the rest in the 77-45 victory. With the win, Loudoun secured a spot in Saturday’s state championship game. They will face the winner of today’s Hidden Valley-Turner Ashby game.

“When we broke down film [from the region championship], Shawntae Payne was getting everything on the right [side]. We came out tonight with the intention of making her go left and with Williams we wanted to go right, we made her go right,” Loudoun County coach Kevin Reed said. “Basically, we took those two out of the game right from the start. And when we took them out of the game, with our running game and the way we can shoot and transition — that was the game plan going in.”

Using their frenetic style of play, the Raiders jumped to a 21-5 first-quarter lead behind stellar inside-outside play from Alissa Kain and Brittany Batts. The duo combined for 29 first-half points. Batts, who led all scorers with 23 points, drained four 3-pointers to help Loudoun build an early lead.

“Basically, our system’s pretty simple. If you’re open, you shoot,” Reed said. “We work hard on it, and we do a lot of shooting in practice. And anytime you work hard in practice and everyone’s willing to compete in practice, then it carries over into the games.”

The Raiders’ balanced attack was critical. Three players finished in double figures, while two others had at least seven points. Kain made her presence felt in the paint with 19 points, and Kendra Homes posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Loudoun used its stifling defense to frustrate Payne and Williams, who combined for eight first-half points. The Raiders were also able to put pressure on the ball, forcing Charlottesville to turn it over frequently. In fact, the Black Knights committed 29 turnovers in the game. Loudoun also got the edge on the boards, outrebounding Charlottesville 47-41.

“Rebounding — it’s all inside, that’s where it all starts,” said Loudoun County’s lone senior, Kerry Sarver, who contributed eight points and seven rebounds. “Our whole system is based on our defense and rebounding, and the offense comes off the defense.”

Loudoun County maintained its intensity throughout the second half and Charlottesville was never able to recover from the large deficit.

Charlottesville coach Harry Terrell said the game might have had a different outcome if not for the first quarter.

“I thought it would have turned out a lot different,” Terrell said. “But it’s kind of hard to settle your players down and of course the added pressure — the fast, frantic pace — it’s kind of hard to settle down and concentrate. It almost takes a half a game to just relax a little bit.”

The Black Knights (19-8) played well in spurts in the second half. Williams finished with a team-high 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Payne chipped in with 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals in her high school finale.

Charlottesville made great strides throughout the season, overcoming injuries and ineligibility to advance to the state tournament. For that, Terrell couldn’t be prouder — especially of his seniors.

“It took us a while to come together as a team. But I thought they did extremely well, because my expectations were basically to get into the district. And then winning the district [tournament] I never did think we would get this far,” Terrell said. “I have to give credit to my seniors. Shawntae, because she had to do it all herself until Tanyqua came aboard. She had a lot of responsibility. Tanyqua had to be very patient until she was eligible to play. They’re seniors and without them, we wouldn’t have had a successful season.”