Mavericks ease past Warriors

As Miller School head coach James Braxton preaches to his team, defense wins games. The quick hands and smart play of his troops on the defensive end translated into a 44-37 victory in the championship of the SunTrust Bank Invitational tournament over host Western Albemarle on Saturday.

“I know we’re going to score, but we’ve got to stop the other team,” Braxton said. “We’ve been really focusing on defense in practice and I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”

Western had a rough go of it in the first quarter, as the young Warriors took a 3-0 lead on Raven Ward’s 3-point play, and then were outscored 12-0 the remainder of the period.

Senior point guard Alex Tamez’s game-high 14 points led the Mavericks, and Monticello transfer Ashley Bowles hit some key free throws down the stretch (6 for 7 over the last 5:51) to finish with nine points. Each was named to the All-Tournament team.

“Alex is definitely a talented point guard,” Braxton said. “She’s got to be patient and run the offense and that’s what she’s learning, she really puts pressure on the basketball. Ashley doesn’t have to score 15 or 20 points a game, but she’s going to get you eight to 10, probably seven or eight rebounds and a couple of steals, and she always plays good defense.”

The Warriors trailed by 10 at halftime, but fought back in the second half, holding Miller to just two field goals and six points in the third quarter. Sophomore forward Ellen Shaffrey got two quick fouls that earned her some bench time in the first half, but made her presence felt late, scoring all of her team-high 10 points over the final 11:50.

“She was anxious to go in the second half, and I told her, ‘You owe me a half,’” chuckled Western coach Kris Wright. “We’re going to need performances like that from her in both halves moving forward.”

Fellow sophomore Carolyn Schneller chipped in with six points and played well with Shaffrey out of the game.

Wright’s team is in something of a rebuilding phase after losing several senior starters — namely Mary Schwartz, Molly Schwoebel and Sadeeka Dosu — from a year ago. The first-year coach hopes that Shaffrey and the team’s lone senior, Caitlin Boles, can continue to step up and become team leaders throughout the season.

“We’ve started slow in two of our three games and put ourselves in a hole,” Wright said. “That’s the sign of a young, inexperienced team. Caitlin is absolutely filling the leadership role for us. She’s going to have to set the tone, particularly on defense, and help the younger kids learn to grow and develop.”

Braxton is thankful to compete early in the season against local schools and hopes that his team will think back to such games as the Mavericks set their sights on a return to the state championship.

“This is my sixth year and we’ve lost in the state championship three times, so I kind of feel like the Buffalo Bills a little bit,” Braxton admitted. “We’re going to get back there, I think we’ve got a core of kids that can do it but we’ve got to jell and learn each other’s tendencies. This is a great start.”

Miller (3-0) travels to Lynchburg on Wednesday to take on Holy Cross. Western Albemarle (1-2) plays at Nelson County on Tuesday and begins Jefferson District play on Friday at home against Louisa County.