CUMBERLAND – It wasn't the night the Cumberland High School girls basketball team had envisioned. Even as late as halftime in the Lady Dukes' 42-25 loss to Fluvanna County on Wednesday night, did they think the result was going to be a 17-point loss.

Cumberland trailed 21-16 at the break, and was unable to get anything going offensively in the second half.

“You can't score four points in the third quarter and five in the fourth and expect to win the game,” said CHS head coach Omar Liggins. Turnovers killed us, and you can't make turnovers to a team that knows how to score off of them. It was a bad night almost all the way around.”

The Lady Dukes' lone bright spot was the play of senior Kamren Gilliam, who scored 13 of her team's 25 points.

“We've had unbalanced scoring in all three games we've played, so far,” said Liggins. “Each night, we've had someone score a large number of points, but it's been someone different.

“That's not always a bad thing, and it lets me know what we are capable of, but we really need everyone to be more consistent.”

Cumberland trailed 12-9 at the end of the first quarter, but took a 16-13 lead at the 3:02 mark. Seven straight points by Annesha Harris, a three pointer by Gilliam and a short layup by Ajah Smith seemingly gave the Dukes the momentum, before Fluvanna ended the half with an 8-0 run.

Cumberland closed to within two points at 20-18 early in the second half on a stickback by Ivy Arbaugh, and a driving layup by Gilliam pulled CHS to within three at 23-20 with 4:55 left in the third period, but Fluvanna scored four straight to lead 27-20 at the end of the quarter.

Two free throws by Gilliam pulled CHS to within seven at 29-22 with 6:55 left, but Fluvanna put the game out of reach with a 12-0 run over a three minute stretch.

“Fluvanna did what they had to do,” said Liggins. “They got the job done. We turned the ball over when they started to pressure us, but it's nothing we haven't seen.

“This is a very experienced team we have returning this year, though we are replacing 20 points per game, we should be able to handle things experienced teams can handle, and I believe we can, but we need to do so quickly. Our games will begin to carry more weight from here on out.”

Cumberland will begin district play on Friday at home against Randolph-Henry, and will travel to Central next Tuesday, before returning home to face Bluestone on Thursday, December 13.