CHS drops Albemarle for 5th

When Charlottesville and Albemarle met earlier this season, the Patriots eked out a one-point win. The Black Knights exacted a little revenge in the fifth-place game of The Daily Progress NBC29 Holiday Classic, coming away with a 46-43 victory in the Patriots’ gym that wasn’t secure until the final moments.

With her team trailing by a point at 43-42, CHS senior guard Jasmine Jones connected on a mid-range jumper with a minute to play to give the Black Knights the lead. The shot was Jones’ only field goal of the game and gave Charlottesville the win over its cross-town rival.

Albemarle had its chances late in the game. Charlottesville (3-3) missed the front end of two one-and-ones to leave the door open, but the Patriots turned the ball over twice in the final 26 seconds. Shawntae Payne — who led all scorers with 25 points — calmly knocked down two free throws with three seconds remaining to seal the win for CHS. Albemarle’s C. J. Jackson was called for traveling on the ensuing possession to dash any hopes of a tying 3-pointer.

“We picked up our intensity in the fourth quarter and forced them into I don’t know how many turnovers,” said Charlottesville coach Harry Terrell. “Whenever you play with defensive intensity you’re going to give yourself a chance to win. I’ve been preaching that all year. Defense, defense, defense. Hopefully here in this fourth quarter it finally sunk in.”

Albemarle (5-5) played some tough defense of its own, with Laura Gomez and the rest of the Patriots post players holding CHS’ top offensive threat Shalita Brown to seven points on the night. Gomez scored 12 points and kept Brown in foul trouble for much of the game.

“I thought defensively we did a good job. We let a few quick transition points get away from us there, but in the half court I thought we did a nice job,” said Albemarle coach Anita Jenkins.

Stopping Brown was one thing. Shutting down Payne was another. The senior scored nine of her 25 points in the pivotal fourth quarter to keep Charlottesville in the game after the Patriots opened the period on a quick 6-0 run.

“I told Shawntae she needed to be a little more aggressive on the offensive end, not with your shot per say but with your penetration,” Terrell said.

Terrell hopes the Black Knights’ back-to-back wins to close the tournament will serve as a springboard into better play entering the district schedule.

“We needed that for our confidence going into the district. We didn’t want to lose two games to one team so we said, ‘Look, we’ve got a second chance, so let’s make good on it.’”