NORFOLK – In the first part of the Grafton doubleheader Saturday, the girls team dropped a 53-48 heartbreaker to Loudoun Conty in a back-and-forth contest that saw four lead changes in the second half.
The fourth quarter decided the game. A jumper by Grafton’s Olivia Wilson gave the Clippers a 45-44 lead with 4:50 to play, but Chloe Knox responded immediately, finding space in the corner and knocking down a trey to turn the game back in favor of Loudon.
Just over a minute later, Grafton got the lead back but left a point off the board when Renee Roe hit two free throws only to have the second waived off for a lane violation. Still, the Clippers held a one-point advantage until Elizabeth Gianelos got open under the basket when the defense sold out trying to pick off the pass. Her open layup would ultimately give Loudon a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Knox then stole a Grafton pass and got it ahead to Alyssa Paige, whose lay-in put Loudon up three with 2:55 to play. The Clippers then tried to turn up the pressure in the backcourt, but Loudon handled it with ease, breaking the full-court press and finding Gianelos open under the basket to put Loudon on top 53-48.
“I haven’t seen our stats but that had to have been one of the poorest shooting games we’ve had all year,” Grafton head coach Tommy Bayse said after the game (the Clippers had shot 37 percent from the field). “And I have to give them some credit; they played good man-to-man, up-in-your-face defense and down the stretch they made the plays and we didn’t. So that was probably the difference in this game.”
The first three quarters were as hard-fought as the fourth, with both teams making runs and both fighting back to close deficits. Grafton opened with a 10-2 run and finished the first up 14-9. But Loudon quickly got in rhythm, scoring the first 14 points of the second.
Grafton’s Christa Hall stopped the bleeding with a basket before Emily Beyer came up with a steal and pulled up in transition for a three-pointer that cut the Loudon lead to four, where it would remain until halftime when Loudon took a 29-25 advantage into the locker room.
Hall would ultimately lead the Clippers with 15 points on 7 of 14 shooting.
“I think next year’s going to be harder because teams are going to get better because they’re young,” a teary-eyed Hall said after the game. “Since this year wasn’t our year I guess next year’s going to have to be.”
Hall was excellent but Grafton struggled to slow down Knox and Gianelos, who scored 12 and 15, respectively. Six of Gianelos’ points came in the third as she sent Loudon to the final quarter with a 39-38 lead.
“I really thought that this was our year to at least get past this first game,” Bayse said. “This is our third year in a row losing this game but it wasn’t meant to be. I’m proud of our girls, the way they played, they still competed and were in the game all the way to the end, but we just didn’t make the plays down the stretch.”
Loudon County: 9 20 10 14 = 53
Grafton: 14 11 13 10 = 48
Loudon County: Gillis 2, Paige 6, Knox 12, Tibbits 8, Phillips 10, Gianelos 15. 23-42 (FG), 3-7 (FT).
Grafton: Hall 15, Beyer 10, Roe 3, Olson 9, Wilson 11. 20-54, 4-10.
