Staunton River girls complete OT sweep of Brookville

Staunton River’s girls basketball team used full-court pressure to force plenty of turnovers and kept Brookville at bay for the second time this season in overtime, winning Thursday’s Seminole District rematch 39-32 in its new gym in Moneta.

Laquaksha Robinson grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and six steals to lead the Golden Eagles (15-3, 9-0 Seminole).

 

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“Laquaksha Robinson made us go tonight,” Staunton River assistant coach Dave Forbes said.

Freshman point guard Jodi Salyer, who paced the Golden Eagles with nine points, made three of her four steals and shot 5 for 7 from the foul line in the overtime period, when Staunton River broke open a 28-28 contest.

“In overtime, we went really hard with our full-court press and picked up the intensity,” Forbes said. “We were stealing it right under the basket and getting layups right after it.”

Robinson and Courtney Dearing finished two of those steals and Salyer was fouled on two others, sinking her free throws.

Forbes credited Staunton River’s defense for holding Brookville’s post players Lindsey Sharman and Talisha Watts to six points.

“Our bigs did a good job denying the inside,” he said. “First, we pressured their guards so they couldn’t get it in. Then, our bigs did a good job of deflecting passes out so we could pick up the loose balls.

He said it was a much different game than the first, which Staunton River won 50-49 in OT.

“This was a much more defensive struggle,” Forbes said. “Neither team could really shoot the ball. It was nip and tuck.”

Staunton River trailed 14-13 at halftime despite holding the Bees (15-2, 7-2) to two first-half field goals. Brookville point guard Emilee Dunton shot 4-for-4 from the free throw line and shooting guard Katie Deacon was 3-for-6 in addition to sinking one of her two 3-pointers in the first half.

The Golden Eagles finished with 14 field goals to just seven for the Bees, who shot 15-for-23 from the foul line. Deacon led all scorers with 11 points and Dunton added nine.

Staunton River, playing its last season in the Seminole before shifting to the Blue Ridge District next year, leads four-time defending district regular-season and tournament champion Brookville by two games with three to play. The Golden Eagles haven’t won a regular-season championship since 1993, when head coach Kim Jones was their starting point guard, or a district tournament title since the late 1990s.