The Lord Botetourt and William Fleming girls basketball teams renewed what has been one of the top rivalries in the area last week when the Cavaliers traveled to Roanoke. LB came on top in this one, 54-50, to retain first place in the Blue Ridge District.
“It was a great back-and-forth game,” said LB coach Renee Favaro. “I’m really proud of the entire team and how they root for one another. Players are stepping up in their roles and really doing what it takes to win. They understand everyone has a job to do for us to be successful. They are a great group of unselfish girls, and it makes the big wins even sweeter.”
Miette Veldman and Taylor Robertson played all 32 minutes and made some big plays. Veldman had 30 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks and three assists in the win, while Robertson had nine points, six rebounds and three assists. Grace Taylor and Ally Spangler came off the bench and gave the Cavs quality minutes. Grace hit the go-ahead three with a little over a minute to go and Ally made a layup with about 30 seconds to play to keep LB in the lead.
With the win the Cavaliers improved to 12-2 overall and 5-0 in the Blue Ridge District, while 12-3 Fleming lost a district game for the first time. They’ll meet again in Daleville on February 7.
LB also had a district game at Northside last week and had little trouble with the home-standing Vikings, winning 49-15. Veldman filled up the stat sheet again with 19 points, 16 boards, three blocks, three steals and three assists in just 15 minutes before yielding time to the reserves. Robertson had 10 points and seven rebounds and all 11 players got to play 10 minutes or more.
Veldman recently learned that she is a nominee for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game.
“This is very rare and great honor to be among the country’s top seniors,” said Favaro.
The Cavaliers were scheduled to play at Liberty Christian Academy on Tuesday and Friday they travel to William Byrd for a Blue Ridge District game.
