James Wood girls spoil Sherando's shot at conference title

WINCHESTER — James Wood made the Conference 21 West girls’ basketball tournament a lot more interesting by doing what no conference team had done all season — beat Sherando.

The Colonels’ Amanda Christian, Amber Wooldridge and Makayla Firebaugh scored 16 points apiece as James Wood dealt Sherando its first conference loss of the season in a 57-55 victory at Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

James Wood (12-4, 3-1 Conference 21 West, 3-2 Northwestern District) connected on nine 3-pointers in the contest and held off Sherando in the closing minutes to avenge a 58-41 loss to the Warriors in the non-conference matchup in Stephens City on Jan. 3.

The Colonels’ victory also prevented Sherando from clinching the regular-season conference title and the automatic 4A West Region berth that comes with it.

“It was a must-win tonight and they knew that,” said James Wood coach Krista Crites, who threw both fists in the air when the final seconds ticked off the clock. “They came out ready to play.

“[This win is] huge for my kids. They’ve really been working hard the past couple weeks, and it’s really good to see the looks on their faces when all that hard work pays off.”

After leading throughout most of the contest, the Colonels needed to work hard down the stretch in the fourth quarter after Sherando’s Tymber Minnick nailed a 3-pointer to put the Warriors ahead 46-45 with exactly four minutes left.

Following Minnick’s 3-pointer — her fifth of the contest — that put Sherando ahead for the first time since early in the opening quarter, Firebaugh made a pair of free throws to put James Wood back on top 47-46 with 3:45 to go.

Wooldridge, who had seven points in the first half, carried the Colonels in the fourth quarter. She scored nine of her team’s 16 points, including a big 3-pointer that extended James Wood’s lead to 50-47 with 2:15 remaining.

The Colonels never trailed from there and led by six after Wooldridge made a pair of free throws and scored on a layup after a long outlet pass from Firebaugh that stretched the lead to 56-50 with 33 seconds left.

From there, Sherando senior Davina Lane knocked down a 3-pointer to cut Wood’s lead to 56-53 with 22 seconds to go.

Lane, who led Sherando with 24 points, scored on a layup after the Warriors stole the Colonels’ inbounds pass, cutting the deficit to 56-55 with 18.4 seconds left on the clock.

From there, Christian was fouled by Lane, sending the Colonels senior to line for a one-and-one opportunity with 15 seconds remaining. Christian made the first free throw, but missed the second.

After Sherando’s Rebecca Travis — who led the Warriors with nine rebounds — grabbed the defensive board off Christian’s miss, the Warriors had one last chance, but no timeouts remaining.

Amber Garrett passed the ball to Minnick near the top of the key, but Minnick’s 3-point attempt was off the mark, and the Colonels took over possession with 0.7 seconds left on the clock to seal the victory.

“It was a tough fourth quarter,” Wooldridge said. “I think we passed the ball well. We might have rushed a few times, but I feel like we passed very well and we executed.

“We’re [tied] for first in the conference [now], and I feel like we’ve come a long way.”

Sherando coach Mike Marsh credited James Wood’s performance.

“Everything we did — they answered,” Marsh said. “They came out and made shots. “We gave them a lot of opportunities early and they did a good job of making plays. ... That’s probably the best I’ve seen [James Wood] play all year.”

While the Colonels’ ability to knock down free throws, going 5 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter and 10 of 14 in the contest, helped them pull out the victory, it was the team’s 3-point shooting that helped them take control of the contest in the first half.

James Wood shot 9 for 16 (56 percent) from 3-point range in the contest, making all but one of those in the first half.

The Colonels nailed 8 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half, getting four threes from Christian and one each from Firebaugh and Wooldridge to take a 23-17 lead after the first quarter. The Colonels were 6 for 6 from 3-point range in the opening quarter.

Sherando cut James Wood’s lead to one after Amber Garrett’s drive made it 25-24 with 4:34 left in the half, but the Colonels reeled off nine straight points from there, getting 3-pointers from Wooldridge and Firebaugh to take a 34-24 advantage with 13.2 left in the half.

Sherando’s Amber Strosnider sank a 3-pointer in the closing seconds — the Warriors’ fifth three of the half — to cut the deficit to 34-27 at the break.

The Colonels’ nine 3-pointers in the contest set a season high.

“The hot start was a big, key component to the game,” said Christian, who also had five rebounds. “It allowed us to get energized and ready to win. Then just working together as team, we all contributed something and that’s really important, too. It took all of us to get this win.”

Firebaugh also led the Colonels with 14 rebounds and four assists.

Minnick said the Warriors needed the type of effort they showed in the fourth quarter throughout the contest.

“We knew it was going to be an offensive game and that our defense had to stand up to them for us to come out on top,” said Minnick, who scored 15 points. “But it just didn’t fall our way tonight. It’s going to be a race to the finish now [in the conference tournament].”

With the loss, Sherando ended conference play with a 4-1 record. James Wood and Millbrook — both currently 3-1 — can make it a three-way tie atop the conference standings if the Colonels beat Handley (winless in the conference) on Feb. 3, and if the Pioneers defeat Woodgrove (1-2 in the conference) on Feb. 8. If there’s a three-way tie for first, then there will be a coin flip to determine the top seed and the conference tournament finalists would earn the two 4A West Region berths.

“We were in control [of the conference] and we let it slip out of our hands,” Marsh said. “It’s disappointing.”

Sherando’s Kelli White missed Tuesday night’s game because of an injury, and Marsh said White is doubtful for Friday’s matchup at Millbrook.

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