The Blue Ridge District tournament was scheduled to begin Friday, but due to many makeups the first round of the tournament has been eliminated and only the top four teams will compete. It will begin next Tuesday, Feb. 15, at the sites of the top two teams, and that should be Staunton River and Lord Botetourt.
The two top teams in the district met in Daleville last Friday and the visiting Golden Eagles got the best of LB, 73-50, to sweep the season series. Staunton River outscored LB 24-3 in the second quarter and that was the difference in the game as the Cavs fell to 15-5 on the season.
“A terrible second quarter both offensively and defensively did us in this game,” said LB coach Renee Favaro. “We lost the second quarter 24-3 and could not crawl back from that against a team with the talent and experience of Staunton River. They start four seniors and it shows.”
Turnovers plagued the Cavs as they committed 19 and the Eagles turned it over only seven times, and that allowed the Eagles to have 15 more shots than LB. Taylor Orange led the Cavs with 22 points and Ally Spangler had nine points and seven assists.
The loss was the second in a row for Lord Botetourt as Patrick Henry defeated the Cavaliers last Wednesday, 54-37. Botetourt trailed by just four at the half, but the talented Patriots turned it on after intermission.
“We were down two senior starters for this game and it showed in our depth,” said Favaro. “Jada Morgan is out with an injury for the foreseeable future and Brianna Wissemann has been out sick. We ran of out steam.”
Orange had 19 points and Spangler had 10.
A night prior the girls beat Franklin County in a district game, also at home, 55-43. The Cavaliers shot 58 percent from the floor in this one as Spangler scored 22, hitting nine of 10 attempts including a pair of threes. Ainsley Anderson had 11 points and five assists and Grace Huffard had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. LB won despite 25 turnovers and giving up 17 offensive rebounds.
“We have to do a better job valuing the basketball moving forward, especially into tournament play,” said Favaro.