ROANOKE, Va. – While it may have been “Big Monday” in college hoops action, locally we had the same type of high-caliber matchups including a girls showdown between Roanoke City rivals Patrick Henry and William Fleming. The Colonels won the first matchup back in December by just two points.
On Monday night the Patriots got revenge. They opened the game by stealing the momentum early by jumping to a quick 4-0 lead. Fleming stayed poised as De’Asia Priest started to get going by hitting a few midrange jumpers. The game was tied 9-9 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Fleming outscored Patrick Henry 11-7 including a three-pointer at the buzzer before halftime from Priest. She would lead all scorers with 20 points Monday night.
In the second half, while Fleming maintained a lead, it didn’t take long for Patrick Henry to find some momentum. Their defense was much improved from the first half and on offense, Trinity Breedlove hit some clutch jump shots that put the Patriots ahead by as many as 9 at one point.
The Colonels fought to the end and closed within three points before the Patriots held on for the 44-38 victory.
Patrick Henry head coach Blue Cook credited the teams defense for sealing the victory.
“We felt like we could match up with them man-to-man,” Cook said. “Last time we played a zone and they ate us alive, although we only lost by two. We’ve been preaching defense. We’ve been holding everybody to under 40 points. Tonight again, just 38 points. So we preach defense.”
The loss snapped a 10-game win streak for the Colonels.
“Honestly it comes down to those loose balls, 50/50 balls, and if you’re a second slow it can be the difference in 2 points or 3 points but for the most part it was a good fought game,” said William Fleming head coach Richard Wilson. .
Jada Cook scored 14 points for Patrick Henry along with 10 from S’Nnya Nichols and 11 from Trinity Breedlove.