It seems like Charlottesville’s Tanyqua Williams likes playing against Orange County.
The senior forward put together another dominating performance against the Hornets Wednesday night, helping spark the Black Knights to a 65-54 win and a berth in the Jefferson District final.
Williams poured in 23 points and hauled down 16 rebounds despite fouling out with almost four minutes left in the game. The senior posted a double-double before halftime with 17 points and 12 rebounds. It was the second time this month Williams gave the Hornets fits — on Feb. 4, Williams had 20 points and 12 rebounds against Orange.
“Being that we’re kind of small I’ve got to step up and help rebound,” Williams said. “Putbacks are very important.”
Shawntae Payne, a first team all-Jefferson District selection, finished with 23 points too, forming a hard to contain inside-outside game with Williams. But it was Williams’ ability to put the ball on the floor and create her own offense that helped Charlottesville leap out to a 41-28 halftime lead — an advantage the Black Knights ended up needing.
“We needed every bit of that lead because it was dwindling,” said Charlottesville coach Harry Terrell. “They were hitting some nice shots down the stretch.”
After Williams fouled out, Orange really began hacking away at the gap, trimming the Black Knights’ lead to just six points at 60-54 on big shots by Christina Harvey and Jasmine Johnson. About that time, though, freshman London Todd decided to take over on the boards where Williams left off. Todd pulled down several critical rebounds in the closing stages of the fourth quarter, and finished with eight for the game.
“She did very, very well for us on the boards,” Terrell said. “I’d start her more but she [has to work on] her confidence. But that’s a freshman, that’s what a freshman does — games like this will help her.”
Orange couldn’t seem to find a way to keep Williams off the boards all night, particularly on second-chance opportunities.
“She’s going to get her points, so it’s about not allowing second-chance points,” said Orange coach Lauren Luck. “But that’s what we struggled with tonight.”
Harvey led the Hornets with 21 points while Skylar Scott chipped in 11 and Jasmine Johnson added nine.
Orange will play in the Division 4, Region II tournament next week.
Charlottesville will take on William Monroe in the JD final Friday at 6:30 p.m. The teams split the season series.
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