By Brian Hoffman, Sports Editor
The Lord Botetourt girls weren’t going to let one sub-par half ruin their basketball season. They came out for the second half with fire in their eyes and scrapped to a 49-44 win over James Monroe to win the Class 3 state basketball championship at the VCU Siegel Center in Richmond Saturday.
“I’m really proud of our grit and our tenacity,” said LB coach Renee Favaro after the win. “We’ve been a defensive group all year and our girls did what they needed to do. They were unselfish and they really got after it.”
James Monroe was undefeated coming into the game and their run-and-gun offense had scored 75 points or more in 18 of their 25 wins, including five games in the 90s and one with 102. They were a challenge for the Cavaliers, who hung their hats on defense all season in running up a 25-3 record, with two of the losses coming to Class 5 finalist William Fleming.
The first half didn’t go well for the Cavs, who were just six of 23 from the floor. James Monroe went on a 10-1 run to start the second quarter and went up by 13 points, 24-11, before the Cavaliers were able to cut the margin to six by the half at 29-23. At that point, Favaro felt good about LB’s chances and told them so in the locker room at halftime.
“I just told them we were playing very poorly, getting sped up, missing layups, missing free throws, and allowing too many points, yet we were still only down six,” she said. “I told them we needed to lock in on defense. I was confident in the second half we would find our calm and find our groove on both ends of the floor, and we did.”
Abby Kingery nailed a three-pointer to open the second half. Then Maddie Caron scored a layup off an assist from Madilyn Winterton to cut the lead to one at 29-28. The Yellow Jackets missed a shot on the other end and Jaiden Dann’s layup gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the game, 30-29, as James Monroe called timeout with two and a half minutes gone in the third quarter.
“Honestly, I felt like as soon as we took the lead we had them,” said Favaro. “They were not used to being behind or not having huge blowout wins. I believed we were the more disciplined team and that discipline would pay off in a close game and down the stretch even if we were not playing our best.”
Coming out of the timeout, Winterton got a steal and missed a layup but Dann grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. She made one of two, then scored a layup off another Winterton assist for a 33-29 lead. The Jackets would score their first points of the half with four minutes to go in the third quarter but were held to five in the entire quarter as LB went into the fourth period with a 39-34 lead. Monroe would get no closer than five for the duration as LB’s defense came up big for the 49-44 final.
“I would guess 44 is the lowest amount James Monroe has scored all season,” said Favaro in the post-game press conference, and she was dead on. Botetourt’s defense forced 30 turnovers with 18 steals, including eight by Winterton. When asked about Botetourt’s defense in the press conference, Monroe center Kiyah Lewis, who was four-for-17 from the floor, burst into tears and could not answer.
Caron led the Cavaliers, and was game-high, with 15 points despite sitting out much of the first half with foul trouble. Dann and Kingery had eight each and were a combined three-for-five on threes, which hasn’t been a strength this season for the Cavs. Botetourt was four-for-eight overall on threes and Monroe was four-for-14.
Winterton, who has been Botetourt’s leading scorer all year, had just six points but put her stamp on the win with seven assists and eight steals. She was double- and triple-teamed by the Jackets but was able to find open teammates.
“When that happens it’s important for me to find other ways to help our team win,” said the senior Blue Ridge District Player of the Year.
The state championship was hardly a thought for the LB girls back in November, but as the season progressed Favaro could feel something special was brewing. The Cavs got off to an 11-0 start before losing to Fleming, and lost to just one Class 3 team the rest of the season, Staunton River. They avenged that loss in the second meeting with the Eagles, and again in the Region 3D final.
“Honestly, I thought we would struggle for awhile to find our identity after losing so many seniors,” said Favaro, who had just eight girls on the varsity to start the season before losing Alicia Holmes to a season-ending injury. “I assumed we would drop some early games with such a tough schedule and that would hurt our ranking in the region playoffs. It became apparent rather quickly that we would be a defensive team.
“Once we finished off the early part of the season and beat Abingdon at their place, I really started to think it could be a possibility if we stayed the course. When we lost Alicia to an ACL and our bench got smaller and we lost her size and athleticism, I wondered how we would make it work.”
But they made it work with three talented seniors leading the way. Winterton, Caron and Kingery went out in style with state championship hardware.
“This group of seniors is the best,” said Favaro. “Not only are they talented, but they are great leaders and role models within our community and school.”
Favaro played for strong Lord Botetourt teams as a student, graduating in 2004, and assisted former coach Chuck Pound with the Cavaliers before becoming head coach. In her first year as coach, in 2020, the Cavs were co-champs after the COVID pandemic cancelled the championship game, but she said this is her biggest thrill of her basketball life.
“This is probably number one as far as accomplishments as a player and coach,” she said. “To be able to do this in a year where we played underdog all year is pretty special. Also, to do it with so few kids is also special.”
Favaro had high praise for Pound, her former coach, mentor and “father figure.” Likewise, the former LB coach and athletic director was proud to see her add another trophy to the LB trophy case.
“I am so ecstatic and very proud of what she and the team accomplished by winning the state championship,” said Pound. “She has always worked so hard for the girls. I think you can tell by their reactions and comments what she means to them. I told her I was also glad that she won this state title outright so that she doesn’t have to share it like in 2020.
“Renee (formerly Guilliams) was also a huge reason we had the success that we did when she was an assistant coach when I was still coaching. Adding to how special this is to me is that Renee’s assistant coach, Kate Failla (formerly Spradlin), also played for me during her LB career.”
The girls echoed those sentiments.
“You don’t always find a coach that puts us first,” said Winterton. “Before the game she told us she was proud of us no matter what happened.”
“She’s our rock,” added Caron. “She brought us through.”
The girls were honored at school Monday with a “Championship Walk” as the team circled the school behind the LB drum line and enjoyed congratulations from the students and staff. Soon a team photo will go up in the LB gymnasium.
“There’s one side of the gym for runner-up teams and one side for championship teams,” said Favaro with a big smile. “We’re going on that championship side.”
