Brentsville hits the road

The day after Brentsville’s heart-stopping 52-51 win over Freedom-South Riding that put the Ti-gers into the Region II finals against Charlottesville, coach Eugene Baltimore had a simple message for his team.

“I told the girls don’t just be satisfied to be here,” he said. “You have to go out and give our best.”

The task against Charlottesville will not be easy. The game will be played Saturday evening at Monticello High School at 7 p.m., a virtual home game for the cross-town Black Knights.

Charlottesville, a team that reached the state finals last year, is led by a trio of players. Erica Brown, the only senior on the team, is a defensive specialist who can also score. Junior Shawntae Payne scored 30 points in the team’s comeback win over Loudoun County in the regional semifi-nals, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds that accounted for the 64-62 margin of vic-tory.

And junior Shalita Brown, the Jefferson District player of the year, had 15 points against Lou-doun County.

“They are a veteran team that has been there before,” said Baltimore. “This is all new for my girls. They are just going to have to go out and play for four quarters.”

The Tigers have a versatile team that can score inside or out. When the taller Freedom team closed off the Tigers’ attempts to score in the paint, Brentsville went outside and converted eight 3-point shots.

Senior Kimmy Hopkins averages 19.5 points per game and was voted the player of the year in the Northwestern District.

It was Hopkins’ two field goals in the final minute that secured the win over Freedom.

“Kimmy has had a great career,” said Baltimore of his four-year starter. “She steps up in key moments.”

With senior Allee Jacobson saddled with foul trouble for much of the night against Freedom, Baltimore said forward Ali Ruotolo filled in and had her best game of the season.

Chelsea Tooke, a starter at the beginning of the season who was set back by an injury, came off the bench to hit three big three-point shots against Freedom.

The Tigers also count on sophomore Keyla Baltimore to run the show.

“She’s the glue that keeps us together,” said coach Baltimore. “She can handle the ball very well. Her penetration allows good looks for her teammates. There are some very good point guards around here and Keyla is one of the best true point guards in our area.”

Baltimore said the Tigers did not have a full practice on Friday, just a shoot-around and some discussion of the Black Knights.

“I hope we have something left in our tank (for Charlottesville),” said Baltimore. “The Freedom game took a lot out of us.”
The Tigers have also qualified for their first-ever state tournament at a site to be determined against either Greensville County from Emporia or Bruton High School from Williamsburg.