Good Morning – going to mix it up just a bit and go with three stories on the 67-34 Cavaliers victory over Spotswood.
STORY #1 – The Gamer
This is what the coverage would look like if a neutral Sportswriter in Lexington wrote about the contest…..
Lexington. Va – Carroll County rode a balanced attack and a suffocating defense to defeat Spotswood High School 67-34 in a rematch of last years Class 3 Semi-final contest.
The two teams were paired up in the Annual Rock the Ribbon Round Ball Shoot Out held at Rockbridge County High School over the weekend.
The highly anticipated pairing between two of the Top programs in Class 3 in the Old Dominion failed to live up to the hype only in that the Trail Blazers had no answer for the team defense that Head Coach Marc Motley’s group played for the entire 32 minutes.
[ Right here there would be a two part quote from Coach Motley but because its 2am and I’m at my desk we will imagine the proud answer]
Virginia Commonwealth University commit Zoli Khalil proved to be a force both inside and underneath but there was no Robin to her Batman.
5″9 junior Alyssa Ervin led the Cavaliers offense early accounting for nine of the teams 21 points but she had plenty of help on the offensive end. Senior Ashton Richardson led the team in scoring in the second quarter as she flawlessly took the baton from Ervin ,scoring half of the Cavaliers 18 points.
Jaelyn Hagee [ a neutral reporter wouldn’t be able to say] played possibly her most complete game of the season, leading the team in scoring with 18 points. The 5’7 Senior proved to be both an offensive spark plug and a defensive demon from start to finish.
Lauren Alley was giving three inches to Khalil but her ability to box out Spotswood severely limiting the Trail Blazers ability to score second chance points. Khalil couldn’t get any of her defenders into serious foul trouble because Motley was able to rotate his players in that spot. Alley wasn’t just a rebounding force as she finished up with 14 points including a bucket on a shot she put up over her shoulder with her back to the basket.
[ Now because my story led with balance I would add a line about the fifth starter, which is very easy because Kalee Easter played a nearly flawless game]
Spotswood Coach Chris Dodson was in search of a number two player to step up but Motley”s effort went seven, if not eight deep. Senior Point Guard Kalee Easter is an extension of Motley and leads the attack as a floor general should. Easter only needed to score at certain points but it was her basketball IQ that made Motley smile.
[ Here, I would ask a question about the play of his point guard to get the quote that ties my story together].
One of the Cavaliers reserves that performed at a high level was another Senior, 5’10 Bella Crotts. Crotts took her shifts guarding Khalil and performed admirably.
Round one went to the Cavaliers last year and the sequel was almost over before it started after CCHS scored the games first nine points. Fans from both schools would welcome the trilogy finale because it would mean that the teams both would have had deep post season runs.
[ I would then ask both Motley and Dodson a final question about each other’s team to put the bow on my Gamer, this time I feel comfortable in that both Coaches are Class Acts.]
Motley -” I’m very proud of the effort that I received from my team today….That’s a very good program we beat today.”
Dodson – “The better team won today but I hope we get the opportunity to face them again.. If we do then I will try to come up with a better game plan”
Why do I feel Dodson would phrase it that way ? Because no Coach with his longevity would ever say something that would take away from his players.
I hope you enjoyed my take on how the gamer would have read from a neutral perspective. I am going to get some sleep 💤 then tomorrow morning give you a Carroll County Sports Report gamer.
Final Note – It appeared that Crotts took an inadvertent elbow to her face, here’s hoping that she is okay.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 