By David Wagner
The Western Albemarle High School varsity girls basketball team has had an exciting and odd run into the playoffs this season. Going undefeated in district play (14-0) during the regular season, they were unaware they had violated a league rule and had to bow out of the district tournament. A sophomore from the JV team played a grand total of 40 seconds in the first round of the tournament, which disqualified the Warriors (the Fluvanna boys team suffered the same fate) in a game that they won by nearly 40 points. The good news was that their regular season championship got them into the regional playoffs, where they cruised past Park View-Sterling (Loudoun County), 61-40, and then beat Charlottesville 53-23 for the third time this season. After suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Winchester’s Millbrook High School, 65-30, in the regional finals, the Warriors will travel to Richmond this weekend for the state tournament.
With seniors Ellen Shaffrey, Kelsey Swanson, Raven Ward, Carolyn Schneller and Christine Fortner leading the way, Western will take on Region I Champion Brunswick High School March 5 at 5:30 p.m. in the Segal Center at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Shaffrey was the Jefferson District Player of the Year averaging 13.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game, landing her in the top 10 of all three of these categories in Central Virginia. Point guard Kelsey Swanson’s 78 assists ranked her as second overall and third in averages with 5.6 per game. Raven Ward was ninth in total rebounds with 109 and second on the shot block list with 36 total, averaging 2.1 a game. Now with an 18-4 overall record, the Warriors’ Saturday game is their first-ever appearance in the state tournament.
