Three games remain before Bull Run tournament; Page visits Wednesday
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Feb. 7 — Luray slipped one spot behind Central of Woodstock in the Bull Run standings on Friday night, with a chance to redeem themselves on Saturday.
While No. 1 Clarke and No. 2 Strasburg lead the district, the Bulldogs were knotted up with the Falcons for third. On Friday, Central won at Madison, 52-35; while Luray lost at home to top-ranked Clarke, 58-24. With three games remaining, the Bulldogs are hoping to hang on to that No. 4 spot (or maybe get back to No. 3) so they can host a Bull Run quarterfinal on Feb. 17.
Coming into Friday night’s matchup with Clarke, Luray had won six of their last nine games after an 0-5 start to the season. However, the height, talent and depth of the No. 1 Eagles were too much for the home team to handle, as Clarke jumped out to a 15-2 lead in the first eight minutes. Clarke junior Alainah McKavish scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the first quarter. Luray’s only points came from two free throws by freshman Emily Benson.
Luray would go 1-for-10 from the floor and commit 18 turnovers in the first half, due in large part to a full court press that Clarke used to disrupt the Bulldog offense early in the game. The Eagles went on an 11-3 run in the second frame and went into halftime up 26-5. Despite the growing deficit, Luray actually held the Eagles to only a 4-2 margin over the first 6:39 of the second quarter. Clarke scored seven points in the final 1:21 of the half.
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room fired up and played their best eight minutes in the third quarter, outpacing the Eagles 16-15. Sophomore Maddie Moore hit two three-pointers in the third, and classmate Chloe Gochenour added another. Freshman Caroline Donovan had five of her team-high seven points in the third quarter as well.
As Luray began to gain a little momentum, starters were re-inserted into the game and Clarke finished off the district matchup on a 17-3 run in the fourth. The run capped off a 58-24 Bull Run victory on the road for Clarke, who currently holds the best record in the region at 16-4.
Clarke was lead by McKavish’s 19 points, followed by junior Paige Stemberger with 15. The Eagles shot 43 percent from the floor and 63 percent from the line. They hit only two shots from beyond the arc and committed nine turnovers.
Luray was lead by Donovan with seven points, while Gochenour and Moore each had six. Benson added four. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 23 percent from the floor and hit 50 percent from the line, while committing a total of 29 turnovers during the game.
Up next, Luray (7-11, 6-5) will host Central (12-8, 7-4) for a rescheduled game on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. This is a key matchup that could tie things up again at the No. 3 slot in the Bull Run. Following that, two games remain in the regular season — Luray travels to Rapp on Monday, Feb. 10 for a 7:30 p.m. tip, and then hosts rival Page County on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m.
Clarke County (16-4, 11-1) closes out the regular season by hosting Madison (5-16, 3-9) on Monday, Feb. 10 and traveling to Stonewall Jackson (0-19,0-12) on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Eagles look to finish strong and will likely have the No. 1 seed in both the Bull Run and Region 2B tournaments.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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