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The record now stands at 23-0. The undefeated Lady Eagles of Prince Edward County High moved to the second round of the James River District Tournament after beating Buckingham High 41-30 Saturday night in Farmville. 

Prince Edward Head Coach Howard Paras gave credit to his team for fighting not just the other team, but also a virus, as several girls got sick. 

“We had some girls sick, but they found a way to make it work,” Paras said after the game. “I also thought Buckingham played really well.” 

Prince Edward’s identity is based around defense. Paras referenced that several times in his discussion with the Herald earlier this week, saying on any given night, he wants the Lady Eagles to be the most aggressive defensive team on the court. That was certainly the case Saturday night, as Prince Edward held Buckingham to just 12 points in the first half. The defense didn’t let up in the second half either, limiting the Lady Knights to just nine points in each of the last two quarters. 

Prince Edward was led by senior Jayla Boyd and junior Aliyah Rachels, who both had 10 points on the night. Junior Madisen Tillerson added 8 and freshman Kyla Barksdale scored 6, with sophomore Keshawna Peaks putting in 4 and junior Anyshia Clark finishing with 3. 

Meanwhile for Buckingham, senior guard Aaliyah Amos led all scorers with 14 points. Sophomore forward Gracie Knight and senior guard Brianne Slape added 6 each, while junior forward Jalaysha Miles and junior guard Jamyia Chambers both scored 2. 

Lady Eagles set eyes on the prize 

Last season, the Lady Eagles were one step away from the state tournament, when they were eliminated by John Marshall High. Now the team has its eyes set on fixing that. 

“Yeah, last year didn’t end the way we wanted, so everybody went into this season pretty focused,” Paras said. “We had a singular goal. We didn’t want this season to end the same way.” 

Their next step to make that happen involves taking on Amelia County High. That’ll happen at Prince Edward County High Tuesday night, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. Tickets are $8 at the door.