The junior varsity (JV) girls also came up short with a final score of 24-49. “We played to the final buzzer, but we just didn’t make our shots,” said eighth grader Kelise Thomas. “We have to have more energy and we have to communicate more.”
The next day, the Flucos went up against Turner Ashby. Varsity was up at the half, but only by one point. The game was a defensive matchup and the girls played very well and efficiently as a team. Ultimately the varsity girls won the game with a final score of 50-47. “We came out ready to fight, and we were patient on offense, which led to the shots we wanted to get,” said junior captain Michelle Hammond. “We played tough defense throughout the whole game.”
The JV team walked away with a loss in a winning effort. The Flucos took good shots, but the ball just didn’t go in the basket. The final score of the JV matchup was 29-40.
On Jan. 17 the girls took on Western Albemarle in an anticipated matchup. The Flucos were coming into this game from a win, and the Warriors were coming in from a huge win over Albemarle. The game was even the whole time, but the Flucos came out on top with a final score of 38-32. “We continued to push the ball and attacked the basket, and played our game and not theirs,” said senior captain Chaniya Brown.
In their own close game, the JV girls also had to make every second and every basket count. Fortunately for the Flucos, they also came out with a win against the Warriors, with a final score of 34-33. “Our defense and offense were outstanding and it felt very good to get revenge,” said eighth grader Khyariah Davis.
The high school held its senior night on Jan. 18. Honored seniors included Brown, Melanie Gray, Darrah Martin and captain Alexandria Daniels. That night the Lady Flucos took on Heritage. The girls’ defense was exceptional, which showed in the halftime score of 23-8. At the end, Fluvanna continued their dominance with a final score of 48-20.
“I’m really proud of the team, we all played well,” Daniels said. “We were very patient on offense, which was key to the win.”
JV came out very slow and only scored seven points in the first half. But after halftime, they clawed their way back from a nine-point deficit and walked away with a win of 32-29.
Indoor track
On Jan. 13 the Flucos had an indoor track meet at Woodberry Forest. Fluvanna faced multiple teams including King George, Spotswood, Cumberland, Woodberry, North Stafford and Orange. Standouts at the event included sophomore Prophett Harris (fifth in boys’ long jump and triple jump), senior Cyan Coates (fifth in girls’ long jump, third in triple jump, fourth in the 55-meter dash, and second in the 300-meter run), freshman Amina Wilson (fifth in girls’ pole vault), senior Jacob Morris (third in boys’ shot put), senior Matasha Martin (first in girls’ 55-meter hurdles, the 55-meter dash, and third in the 300-meter run); senior LaMaya Lacy (fourth in girls’ 55-meter hurdles); junior Saige Haney (third in girls’ 1,600-meter run), and sophomore Jason Boyle (third in boys’ 3,200-meter run).
On Jan. 18 the team had a small meet against Louisa and Orange County. The girls’ team finished in second place with a final score of 40, losing to Louisa by a score of 97 and beating Orange which had a score of 16. The boys came in third overall with a score of 27, losing to Louisa and Orange. Standouts included Coates who finished top five in four different events, and Harris, who also placed top five in four different events.
Swim and dive
The Fluvanna swim and dive team traveled to Harrisonburg on Jan. 13 for a four-way meet including Harrisonburg, James Wood and Waynesboro. The boys’ and the girls’ teams both won the meet, with senior Lydia Reynard placing first in her event and senior Anna Hurdle placing third in her event. “Some courageous swimming by the boys and girls in the difficult events picked up the points needed to win,” said Coach Feda Morton.
On Jan. 14 Fluvanna traveled down the road to the Fork Union Military Academy Invitational, where the girls won with a comeback in the 400-meter relay. The boys also jumped from fifth place to third place in the same event.
The Flucos took on Charlottesville and Monticello on Jan. 17 where the girls walked away with yet another win and senior Emily Baker qualified for the state meet in dive. “It feels very good to know my hard work has paid off. I am super happy I was able to break 300,” said Baker. Hurdle and Reynard joined her in qualifying for the state meet in dive, while the boys’ team finished second, beating out Monticello but coming up short against Charlottesville.
Boys’ basketball
The Flucos returned to action over the weekend playing on Jan. 13 against the Louisa Lions. Fluvanna battled hard to get the game back within seven points in the fourth quarter, but fell short 49-64. The loss dropped the Flucos’ record to 0-13 on the season.
On Jan. 14 the Flucos got the opportunity to avenge the loss as Turner Ashby came to town. For the first time this year, the Flucos were finally in the win column. The win gave Jason Davis his first career win as head coach of the Flucos. “It was really nice to see all my guys’ hard work pay off. We played a complete game on offense, defense, and outworked the other team,” said Davis.
Fluvanna opened up a 17-0 lead before the Black Knights came back within four points at 21-17. Fluvanna went on another run to go up 20 points at halftime. They came out even stronger, as the lead pushed out to 30 in the fourth quarter before the final buzzer went off, giving the Flucos a 71-61 win. Sophomore Drew Pace and senior Josh Carlton led the way for the Flucos. Pace had a team high of 16 points, while Carlton had a double double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Following the win, the Flucos traveled for a showdown with the Western Albemarle Warriors on Jan. 17. The Flucos struggled early on and couldn’t overcome the deficit, falling to the Warriors 32-62. The loss dropped the Flucos’ record to 1-15.
Wrestling
The wrestling team had a match on Jan. 18 at Madison County, defeating both Madison and Greene to cruise to a victory. Sophomore Hunter Wiersma recorded his first pin in the win. “Overall, the whole team did great and wrestled hard in both matches,” said assistant coach Jordan Divine.
Scholastic Bowl
The Scholastic Bowl team had a match Jan. 18 at Charlottesville High School where they defeated all four teams they faced. “We totally dominated last night, played great together as a team and have built a lot of confidence,” said senior Annaliese Estes.
