When the James Monroe girls basketball team takes the floor at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center to face Lord Botetourt for the Class 3 state championship Saturday at 11 a.m., the pressure on the Yellow Jackets will be at an all-time high.
You see, JM has never won a state title. In fact, the Jackets have only reached the championship game once in program history, and that didn’t go so well: an 87-31 defeat at the hands of now-defunct J.J. Kelly High from Wise.
But as heavy as the weight of expectations from their school, their community and even themselves could be, JM head coach Tameka Christopher and her players appear to be carrying it well.
“It’s business as usual for us,” said Christopher, who was a freshman on the Jackets’ Group A state finalist squad 23 years ago. “We focus on one game at a time and put all our energy into that, no matter what’s on the line.”
If JM (25-0) does in fact put all it’s got into Saturday’s title tilt, that could be very bad news for Botetourt (25-3).
The Jackets are outscoring their opponents by an average of 42 points per contest. They’ve won by 54 points or more nine times and by 76 or more on four occasions. By contrast, only two of their wins have come by less than double-digits, and both of those were against Battlefield District rival and Region 3B semifinalist Culpeper.
“We feel like we can play with anyone, regardless of the situation,” JM sophomore guard Melanie Johnson said. “And our approach to the [state championship] will be no different. A good week of practice and we’ll be ready to go on Saturday.”
Senior forward Kiyah Lewis, the Battlefield District and Region 3B player of the year, echoed those sentiments.
“We feel like we’ll be in good shape for [Botetourt],” she said. “We just have to do our jobs and play as a team.”
The Jackets did just that in last Friday’s 64-48 victory at Grafton, where they forced 34 turnovers with a swarming man-to-man defense and built an insurmountable 31-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Offensively, six players scored six points or more, paced by 13 apiece from Lewis and Johnson and 12 from senior forward Daysha Salgado.
While Lewis’ output was well under her norm — she totaled 24, 30 and 39 points in the previous three games — she locked down Grafton star Taylor Ragland for the better part of three quarters. Ragland finished the night with 20 points, just below her average of 23, but 10 of them came after the game was out of reach in the final period.
“When I was told I had to guard [Ragland], I knew I’d have to play the best defense I’ve played this season,” said Lewis, who held Ragland to six points in the first half. “I think it showed, because I was able to limit the number of easy shots she got tonight.”
Botetourt enters Saturday’s contest on a roll itself, having won eight games in a row and 11 of its past 12. The Cavaliers are a veteran squad, led by seniors Madilyn Winterton and Maddie Caron.
Winterton, a two-time all-state selection at guard, averaged 19 points, five steals and 4.2 assists per contest during the regular season.
Caron, a 6-foot forward, eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone in her career during Botetourt’s 57-24 state quarterfinal win over Western Albemarle on March 4, scoring 14 points that night.
Winterton and Caron took turns doing their part to get the Cavaliers to the title game. Winterton posted 24 points and four assists against Western Albemarle, while Caron scored 16 in last Friday’s 57-39 victory over Spotswood in the state semifinals.
Not to be overlooked is a third senior, Abby Kingery. Like Winterton and Caron, Kingery was named to the all-Region 3D team last week. She scored 11 points in the win over Spotswood.
Christopher, who also led JM to the Final Four as a senior in 2005 before going on to play collegiately at Chowan (N.C.) University, said that it’s been sweet taking her alma mater back to states, but not quite satisfying.
“It’s definitely been nice seeing the girls get to experience something I did as a player and being a part of it,” she said. “But I remember what it feels like to get so close to a championship and not quite get over the hump. I don’t want that for them, so I’ll only be satisfied once we’ve finished the job.”
JM Athletic Director Kenton Griffin said these Jackets are a reflection of Christopher.
“This team is Tameka through and through,” he said. “Gritty, tough, intelligent. … a throwback to what JM was built on. I’m so proud of her and what she has accomplished, and she’s such a role model for today’s young female athletes at JM.”
