Lady Dukes end on high note

Published 11:50 am Friday, February 13, 2015

WINDSOR
The Windsor High School Lady Dukes entered February on a three-game losing streak, but the team put together a 2-1 run during the last week and a half to enter the conference tournament with a final record above .500, improving over last year’s squad.

On Tuesday, the Dukes ended the TriRivers District basketball season with a win against the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School Lady Dragons with a 55-54 come-from-behind victory.

The Dukes took an eight-point deficit entering the second quarter, and turned that to a two-point lead, 28-26, entering the half. Windsor was able to hold onto the one-point victory, despite a fourth quarter surge by the Dragons.

On Friday, the team played Arcadia High School and dominated with an 89-45 victory.

“The ladies put in hard work at practice and came up with the win,” head coach Sherry Ashburn said. “They had less turnovers and had great ball handling.”

Bridgette Walton had a big night, scoring 29 and dishing out 11 assists. Andrea Magba was one rebound away from a triple-double, ending the night with 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

During the week’s practices, Ashburn said she drilled ball handling and passing. That’s because on Monday, she went over the boiling point when turnovers contributed to a fourth straight loss, as the Lady Bulldogs of Brunswick High School picked up the 82-65 win.

It wasn’t all bad, though, as Magba had a career night in scoring with 25 points down in the post and on the free throw line.

The Dukes (10-8) will play in the VHSL 2A Conference 33 tournament this upcoming week, starting on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The girls, securing a No. 2 seed, will have a bye for the first round. On Thursday, they will host at 7 p.m. the winner of the Bruton (No. 3) and Arcadia (No. 6) game.

“We are just going over plays that we have implemented all season,” Ashburn said. “We’re spending extra time on breaking the press, the fast break press.

“The girls are excited!”