RICHMOND—The James Monroe girls’ basketball team had squeezed its opponents all winter long, feasting on a virtual smorgasbord of turnovers en route to a 25-0 record.
It was Lord Botetourt who ate like a king on Saturday, however.
The Cavaliers forced 30 turnovers and sprinkled in a balanced offensive attack to earn a 49-44 victory over the Yellow Jackets in the Virginia High School League Class 3 state championship game at VCU’s Siegel Center.
Maddie Caron scored a game-high 15 points, and five other players recorded six points or more as Botetourt (26-3) claimed its fifth state title and its first since 2019.
JM (25-1) was seeking its first state crown after falling in its only other appearance in the title game in 2002. The Jackets led 29-23 at halftime on Saturday but came unglued down the stretch under the pressure of a physical, defensive-minded Cavaliers squad.
Botetourt opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run that set the tone for the second half. Abby Kingery started things off with a 3-pointer, and Jaiden Dann scored the final five points of the spurt to give the Cavaliers a 33-29 lead with 4:32 remaining in the period.
It was Botetourt’s first lead of the contest.
While JM briefly regained the advantage, 34-33, on a three-point play by Kiyah Lewis with 2:53 to go in the quarter, the momentum had firmly swung in the Cavaliers’ favor. Caron tallied five of the next six points on a pair of layups and a free throw, and Botetourt took a 39-34 lead to the final stanza.
The Jackets coughed the ball up eight times in the quarter, leading directly to 10 of the Cavaliers’ 16 points. They also shot just 2 for 14 from the field.
It was a stark contrast to JM’s 64-48 state semifinal win over Grafton, where the Jackets forced 34 turnovers and were in control from start to finish.
“We made simple mistakes,” JM head coach Tameka Christopher said. “Five points in the third quarter. … That’s not us.”
Melanie Johnson tried to give the Jackets a shot in the arm with a trey to start the fourth period, cutting Botetourt’s edge to 39-37 with 7:17 to play. But Kingery responded with a 3 of her own 24 seconds later, Dann followed with another, and Caron converted a pair of layups during a 10-3 run that buried JM’s championship hopes.
Kingery and Dann finished the afternoon with eight points each.
While she finished with just six points, the Cavaliers’ Madilyn Winterton was a key cog at both ends of the floor. The senior point guard handed out seven assists and recorded eight steals—two of which came in the final four minutes as the Jackets were trying to rally.
“It was really big to get those steals at the end because we needed to keep possession,” said Winterton, a two-time all-state selection who averaged 19 points per game during the regular season. “I think it’s important for me to find other ways to make our team successful when I’m not scoring.”
PHOTOS: James Monroe girls’ basketball team falls in state championship game
Fellow seniors Kingery and Caron complemented Winterton’s defensive effort with strong ones of their own. Kingery tallied four steals, while Caron held Daysha Salgado, JM’s 6-foot-1 post player, to just eight points.
Botetourt head coach Renee Favaro wasn’t surprised by the performance her senior trio turned in under the bright lights.
“All three of them are really gritty, really selfless, and they buy-in defensively,” she said. “We’ve had to play a different style [this season] than what I’ve normally coached, and that’s because we just tailored it to who they are. And who they are is tough, good defensive players.
“I’d bet 44 points is the lowest James Monroe scored this year, if I had to take a guess,” Favaro added.
The Jackets looked poised to score much more than that early in the second quarter. Salgado and senior classmate Kiyah Lewis recorded four points apiece during a 10-1 run to open the frame, buoying JM to a 24-11 lead with 6:14 remaining in the first half.
Lewis was the only Jacket to reach double-figures, scoring 14 points.
A Favaro timeout settled her team down, though. And then sophomore Maggie Hoover and freshman Addison Naff picked up some of the scoring slack, contributing five points each during a 10-2 spurt that enabled the Cavaliers to pull within six by halftime.
“I thought we looked a little defeated, and I got on them during the timeout,” Favaro said. “And they responded like they have all year.”
Despite the disappointment of coming up short, Salgado expressed her gratitude for the large contingent of JM fans that made the trip south from Fredericksburg to support her and her teammates.
“They’ve been with us every step of the way,” she said. “We definitely felt the support today.”
Lord Botetourt 10 13 16 10 — 49
James Monroe 14 15 5 10 — 44
Lord Botetourt (26-3): Addison Naff 6, Reagan Meade 0, Abby Kingery 8, Jaiden Dann 8, Madilyn Winterton 6, Maddie Caron 15, Maggie Hoover 6. Totals: 16 13-25 49.
James Monroe (25-1): Jaylah Black 4, Melanie Johnson 9, Alexia Robinson 3, Kiyah Lewis 14, Finè Swain 2, Laila Taylor 0, Harmony Jones 4, Daysha Salgado 8. Totals: 17 6-10 44.
3-pointers: Lord Botetourt 4 (Kingery 2, Naff, Dann). James Monroe 4 (Johnson 3, Robinson).
