While much of the student body was off for winter break, the Mathews High School girls’ basketball team was taking part in a three-day tournament in Charlottesville.

Mathews dropped the first two contests, but came back to win on the third and final day. The Devils returned to regular season action on Tuesday night, beating the Middlesex Chargers on the road.

Tournament

In the annual Daily Progress Holiday Classic, MHS faced three teams who all happened to be large 5A schools. The first game was played on Dec. 27 at Charlottesville High School against Western Albemarle. The game was hard fought but not ending in the Devils’ favor. The final score of that game was 52-6. On the second day the MHS girls faced Mills Godwin at Monticello High School. The final score of the game was 51-7 with Godwin coming out on top.

Despite these losses, the Mathews girls were not giving up their fight. Every single Lady Blue Devil had it in their head to win. Finally, the third and final day arrived where the girls faced the Monticello Mustangs at Monticello High School.
The girls came out of the locker room saying “let’s get one point better than yesterday.” The Lady Devils never gave up, and never hung their heads; instead, they kept a positive attitude and held their heads high. Finally, the girls stole a win against the Mustangs with a final score of 38-35. Leading the team in points Reese Brock had 19, followed by Sarah Ashbaugh (five), Avery Thomas (four), Zoe Camp and Lora Rowe (three points each) and Olivia Ashbaugh and Kayla Carr (two points each).

This opportunity against much bigger schools gave the girls a chance to get better, and play the game at a faster pace.

Middlesex

The Devils returned to the court on Tuesday to face the Middlesex Chargers. The Chargers only have six players on their team this year, leaving one sub on the bench. However, one player fouled out, while another two players were taken out for injury. This left Middlesex with three players on the floor in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Coaches and referees decided to call the game early, leaving the Lady Devils on top with a final score of 39-18. Sarah Ashbaugh led the team in points with 13, with Brock (11 points), Olivia Ashbaugh (eight), Grayson Griffith and Carr (two points each) and Serenity Forrest (one point) rounding out the scoring.

With that win, the MHS varsity team now holds a 4-7 record. Tonight, Mathews will host the Essex Trojans, with the JV girls starting at 5:30 and the varsity tipoff at 7.