Cause and effect.
Maybe it was because of playing on the huge state tournament stage of a college court. Maybe it was because of the difficulty of adjusting to the depth perception. Maybe it was just the opponent was pretty darn good.
The effect Friday night at Roanoke College’s Cregger Center was a dominating performance by the Lord Botetourt girls basketball team on their way to the 63-30 blowout over Turner Ashby in the VHSL Class 3 state quarterfinal.
Even with Botetourt’s leading scorer, Miette Veldman, slowed by a pair of fouls in the first quarter, Botetourt had plenty of firepower to attack the Lady Knights. Like a warship firing torpedoes, the Cavs had Turner Ashby taking shots to the bow. When the Knights returned fire, most went off-target. Turner Ashby shot a less than requisite 21.3% from the field and was forced into 19 turnovers. On the other end, Botetourt was clicking with continuous fast break lay-ups, beating the Lady Knights down the court.
Although Veldman came back to finish with a game-high 20 points, including 12 of 18 from the free throw line, Botetourt had a strong supporting cast that included 15 points from Taylor Robertson and 7 from Meredith Wells,
Lord Botetourt led 12-9 after the first quarter, but finished on a late 7-0 run to go to the halftime break up 29-17. It was 40-25 after three quarrelers, and the Cavs lead passed 20 with 6 minutes left and reached 30 points minutes later on their way to a 21-5 advantage in the final eight minutes that decided the final margin.
Becca Shiflet led Turner Ashby with 13 points, with Leah Kiracofe adding 7. Only two other Lady Knights scored from the field, accounting for 3 of only 10 total makes from the field for Turner Ashby.
Lord Botetourt advances to play Booker T. Washington Tuesday night at 6 PM in the Salem Civic Center with a berth in the Class 3 Final in Richmond at stake.
Bill Turner
