Last week, when the Cumberland girls basketball team showed up at Goochland minus their number one scorer, it appeared the Lady Bulldogs might have a shot at beating the league leading Dukes.

  It didn’t work out that way. Even without Mecka Anderson, the Dukes (10-1, 15-1) employed a high-energy game plan to defeat the struggling Bulldogs, 53-39.

  The loss leaves Goochland in the James River District’s third slot, but the game also represents a pattern that is troubling for head coach Sarah Voyack.

  “We don’t have improvement in practice and we’re not improving in game play,” Voyack said. “We’re not doing the little things we harp on in practice. This is an issue we’ve been trying to work through since we came back from Christmas break.”

  The Dukes’ defense challenged every pass, rebounded well and forced turnovers with a sticky man-to-man defense.  Annesha Harris led the Dukes with 21 points and Karmen Gilliam added 15.

  “You have to give them credit,” Voyack said. “Their girls stepped up tonight. They played with their best girl out and still had that kind of game. That’s a coach’s dream.”

  Dukes’ coach Omar Liggins said his team turned in a solid performance, even gutsy at times. “We played really tough defense tonight and the girls came out ready to play,” he said. “We played good, hard nosed man to man defense. It was a hard nosed effort by my girls tonight.”

  The loss drops the Bulldogs to 8-9 overall and 6-4 in the district.

  “We’re sitting in third but we have some teams nipping at our heels,” Voyack said.

  However, she is also optimistic that the final four games of the regular season can bring change for the Bulldogs. “We still have time to turn it around,” she said. “We told the girls if they want it, it’s there.”

CUMBERLAND (13-3, 10-1 James River) — Davenport 8, Parker 3, Gilliam 15, Tyree 2, Harris 21, Harbaugh 2, Paige 2. Totals 16 18-30 53.
GOOCHLAND (8-9, 6-4) — B. Jackson 0, Rodriguez 7, Simmons 0, Robinson 3, Taylor 7, Leabough 9, Rosenbaum 0, C. Jackson 9, Southerland 1, Zbinden 3. Totals 15 8-18 39.
Cumberland…....... 14 15 8 14 — 53
Goochland….........  8   9 9 13 — 39