Patriots advance to 5th-place game

After falling to Orange County in the first round of The Daily Progress NBC29 Holiday Classic on Saturday, Albemarle looked to bounce back against Culpeper in its second game of the tournament. The Patriots did just that on their home court on their way to a 61-35 win over a depleted Blue Devils squad.

Culpeper dressed only eight players for the game and AHS took full advantage, running a full-court press on defense that left the Blue Devils battling fatigue late in the game.

“We wanted to come out and be sure that we played a good first half, which we didn’t do on Saturday,” said Albemarle coach Anita Jenkins.

The Patriots (5-4) answered the call of their coach, holding Culpeper to 17 first-half points and only two field goals in the second quarter to take a 32-17 lead into halftime.

The defensive intensity continued in the second half as AHS forced Culpeper into 29 turnovers in the game.

“We were switching up our defenses and our presses. We talked before the game that we needed to come out and play tenacious defense and I thought the girls did,” Jenkins said. “I thought it was a good team effort from everyone.”

The Patriots got points from nine players with Tamika Lewis leading the way with 15. Kya Francisco chipped in 11 points for AHS.

Kayla Bryant (15) and Chasity White (14) combined for 29 of the Blue Devils’ 35 points in the game.

Albemarle moves on to face Charlottesville today at 2:15 p.m. in the fifth-place game. Culpeper will play Waynesboro in the seventh-place game at 11 a.m. Both games will be played at Albemarle.