Montverde Academy ranked #2 held on for a 43-21 victory over Winston-Salem Christian (Regional) following a slow start during Day 1 of Queens of the Castle.
Montverde Academy (FL) is one of the strongest and deepest teams in the country and they have the schedule to prove it. They went to Texas last weekend and played two of the Top 10 teams in the country and suffered their first loss against the number one DeSoto High School (TX) team by a 51-46 score. Head Coach Special Jennings and her team packed up again this week hitting the road to participate in the Queens of the Castle Showcase. The event was held December 2-4 at Westwood High School in Blythewood, SC.
Montverde came into their game at 5-1 and was matched up on the first day against Winston-Salem Christian (Regional). Winston-Salem started the season 7-0 and spent some time in the National Rankings (Maxpreps) last year and looked ready for this challenge entering the game.
The game started off slowly with both teams trying to find some offensive rhythm and flow, they both were trying to feel each other out and found the game tied at 2 points a piece with 1:30 left in the period. Unfortunately for Montverde, their All-American senior forward Janiah Barker picked up her 2nd foul and had to take some time off the court. Winston Salem capitalized by going on a 4 - 0 run to finish out the quarter led by senior Chelsy Santana and junior guard Tamir Whittle.
Basketball is a game of adjustments and Montverde made some defensively and were off and running to a 13-0 outburst during the 2nd quarter and led by a score of 15 -6. Junior guard Rusne Augustinaite led the way by scoring five of the points and provided a spark during this time. Winston-Salem Christian was not done and junior Brecken Snotherly broke the drought by going on a 5-0 run, starting at the 1:20 mark of the second quarter. She cut their deficit to 15-11 with 45 seconds left before halftime. Montverde would close out the half with a 3-point shot by senior guard Fernando Ovalle, who is committed to Xavier University (OH) to make the halftime score 18-11 with Montverde holding a seven point lead.
The second half of the game started and the defensive effort by Montverde was very similar to the second quarter of play, very intense. Winston-Salem Christian did not score a point throughout the entire third quarter of play. Montverde shut them out and took control of the game. On the offensive side for Montverde, senior Jordana Ocadio, University of Texas signee, asserted herself into the game play. She scored seven points in a row for her team and helped to fuel this run.
One of the highlights of the third quarter was a very nicely executed alley oop play. Junior guard Miracle Sheppard threw it up to Janiah Barker, who finished it nicely off the glass for two points. This was a thing of beauty to watch as Montverde led 31-11 after three quarters of play. Winston-Salem Christian would keep playing hard into the fourth period of play, but was unable to make a big enough dent into the lead to comeback. Montverde would hold on for a 43-21 victory.
Montverde was led by Augustinaite with 11 points with knocking down three three-pointers. Senior center Fatima Diakhate, wh stands 6-foot-5 and is a Central Florida signee, finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds and a block. The Queen of the game (MVP) went to Barker, a senior who has signed with Georgia. She had 5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and really brought an energy to the game that was unmatched.
Winston-Salem Christian (Regional) was led by junior Brecken Snotherly, who scored 10 points including two three-pointers and senior Chelsy Santana, who had 6 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Montverde Plays Friday 12/3/2021 - against Arizona Compass (AZ) 8:30 PM
Winston-Salem Christian (Regional) plays Friday 12/3/2021 - against Host Westwood HS (SC) 7:00 PM
PETER LONDON
Carolina Girls Hoops Report - @CarolinaGHoops
