DALEVILLE, Va. – At the start of January, the Lord Botetourt girls’ basketball team was 11 games into the season—and still undefeated. It was an impressive feat, considering the Cavaliers had graduated five seniors who moved on to play at the next level.
Even head coach Renee Favaro admitted early in the year that she didn’t expect this level of dominance.
“To be honest, I think we’ve kind of exceeded my expectations, and maybe I should have raised them,” Favaro said. “But when you’ve graduated five seniors…”
The Cavaliers made a statement early in the season, and they did it again Friday, defeating Spotswood for the third time this year to secure a spot in the state title game against James Monroe on Saturday.
“Honestly, this group has just really bought into what we want to do, particularly on the defensive end of the floor,” Favaro said. “We’re only giving up 33 points a game. We’re giving up less than 30% shooting, so I think that’s been the difference maker. Again, maybe I should have raised my expectations. I didn’t know defensively that we were going to be as tough as we are, and that’s what we’re going to try to do against James Monroe, knowing that they like to score a lot of points, and we’d like to keep people from scoring a lot of points.”
James Monroe has scored at least 50 points in every game this season, while Lord Botetourt has allowed more than 50 points just once, against Class 5 title contender William Fleming.
“I mean, obviously we’ve both made it this far, so they’re a very aggressive team,” Lord Botetourt’s Madilyn Winterton said. “They’re gonna push out as hard. We both want to win this game, but it’s gonna come down to who’s gonna work harder and who’s gonna prepare better.”
The Cavaliers’ defensive identity has carried them to this moment, just days away from their first state championship appearance since 2020. That year, Lord Botetourt never got the chance to play for the title. As the team boarded the bus, the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It means everything because I can’t imagine how hard that is as a player and as a coach, making it, just getting that call that you can’t go,” Abby Kingery said. “I can’t imagine how hard that would be. So going and hopefully winning this thing will mean the world to us and her.”
The “her” is Favaro, known to her players as “Coach G.” That canceled 2020 trip was her first as a head coach, but she won a title in 2018 as an assistant under Hall of Fame coach Chuck Pound.
“I told them after Spotswood, I said, ‘I’m just so proud of you guys, but I’m also so excited for you because going to the Siegel Center, going to VCU, it’s a core memory. Win or lose, it’s a core memory. It’s something that they’re gonna remember doing for the rest of their lives,’” Favaro said.
During one of the team’s final practices, Favaro gathered her players and pointed to the photos on the gym wall—one side for champions, the other for runners-up.
It’s clear where the Cavaliers want their picture to hang. A win would be for the 2020 seniors, for this year’s team, and for their coach.
“We love Coach,” senior Maddie Caron said. “She’s done so much for us. Me, both of the other seniors—we couldn’t even tell you how much she’s done for us, and it would be so special to be the team that gives that to her as a head coach.”