James Wood girls outlast Handley in double OT

WINCHESTER — James Wood’s Makayla Firebaugh stole the ball, dribbled three-quarters of the court, then attempted a layup in the process of being fouled.

As she watched the ball settle into the basket, she screamed and pumped her arms wildly. It was a moment that perfectly captured the intensity and emotion that both James Wood and Handley exhibited while giving everything they had over 40 minutes of basketball.

Firebaugh’s basket and free throw with 20 seconds left finally gave James Wood the separation it needed to pull out a 62-56 win over Handley in double overtime in Class 4 Northwestern District girls’ basketball on Friday night at the Colonels’ Shirley Gymnasium.

The win pulled James Wood (11-4, 5-2 Class 4 Northwestern District) even with Handley (11-4, 5-2) for second place in the district standings.

“I was just hype,” said Firebaugh, who teamed with Brenna Prunty to score 58 of James Wood’s 62 points, as each chipped in 29. “I don’t know how to explain it. It was just in the moment. I was just so happy.”

Understandably so. Both teams repeatedly had to dig deep, as neither led by more than five points until Firebaugh’s free throw to cap the traditional three-point play. That came moments after Handley nearly tied the game on a McKenzie Jolliffe 3-point attempt.

Firebaugh had a chance to end the game in the first overtime. She hit a free throw to tie the game at 56 with 5.5 seconds left, but after Handley coach Randi Jones called a timeout, the player who had hit 85 percent of her free throws through James Wood’s first 13 games missed the second. She then missed a fiercely challenged three-point attempt with a couple seconds left.

But Firebaugh showed her determination and strength after that, brushing off her missed free throw to score the game’s only six points in the second overtime. The biggest came as a result of her steal in the last half minute. After Joliffe (17 points, four 3-pointers) missed her 3-pointer from the right wing, Handley got the rebound and tried to feed the ball back to her, only to be denied by Firebaugh’s fifth steal of the game. She was then off to the races the other way.

“When I missed the free throw, I was like, ‘I’ll make up for it guys. It’s OK,’ Firebaugh said. “Everybody just pushed me to do better and act like I never missed it. They just encouraged me to go harder and play more.’”

James Wood couldn’t express the team dynamic enough after the game. While Firebaugh and Prunty’s career-best effort dominated the scoring, it was the cohesion displayed by James Wood’s defense that played a big role in helping the Colonels earn a season-split with Handley after losing to the Judges 60-40 on Dec. 14.

After playing man defense in the first matchup, the Colonels played a a 3-2 zone and forced 28 turnovers on Friday from the Judges, including six in the two overtime sessions. James Wood also held Handley to 21-of-51 shooting (41.1 percent).

“I came in hoping or thinking that [Handley] was going to prepare against our man defense, because that was all they saw the first time,” James Wood coach Krista Crites said. “We’ve had a couple days off because of weather, so 3-2 is what [the team] is comfortable in and what they excel at. We know how to run it, we know how to force turnovers off it.

“They played with heart, and they came after this it. This is a game they wanted.”

“I felt like packing it in helped us more, because they couldn’t get as many inside shots as they did last time,” Firebaugh said.

Crites said she also couldn’t have been more pleased with the performance Prunty provided. At 11.5 points per game, Prunty’s been a consistently solid scorer this year for James Wood, but she stepped up in a big way Friday with her drives to the basket, including one driving layup with 11 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 47. After Handley missed two 3-pointers, the game went to the first overtime.

“I feel like everyone on the bench hyped me up so much,” said Prunty, who also had four steals. “There was such good energy. Honestly, I feel like none of us could have played how we did without them.”

Handley finished with a 41-27 rebounding edge and got strong performances from Jolliffe, Taylor Beard (23 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, three blocks) and Kiah McFarlane (five points, eight rebounds, seven blocks).

But the Judges had by too many turnovers, and Handley was hurt down the stretch by not having point guard Neysha Washington on the floor. The senior picked up her third foul with 1:10 left in the first half, played only 26 seconds in the third quarter before picking up her fourth, and then after returning with 6:12 to play in the fourth quarter she fouled out on a charge 30 seconds into overtime.

“I think at times we were too patient and didn’t attack [enough], and that at other times [we attacked] and forced things when we shouldn’t have,” Jones said. “A lot of teams play zone, we’ve seen zone defenses, and I like having to be patient. It’s just knowing when to penetrate, and sometimes it took us way too long to attack those gaps and get some kickouts. Up until when we were just forcing things at the end, I was pleased with our offense [against the 3-2].”

Jones said she was pleased with McFarlane’s play.

“For three years, she’s been one of our best defenders and shot-blockers,” Jones said. “Kiah is the backbone of our defense. She’s there to pick up the slack and she’s one of our best communicators on defense.”

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