Warrior Girls Close Out Colonels, 69-49

Posted: January 29, 2014
By ROBERT STOCKS
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Sherando junior guard Jessica Hakel said the Warriors worked on a few things in practice and watched some film heading into Tuesday night’s Northwestern District rematch with James Wood.

And the Warriors certainly looked ready to go from the start, opening the game on an 11-0 run and then closing the game with a 29-point fourth quarter that was just as impressive as the way they started.

Hakel, junior forward Heidi Brown and freshman guard Davina Lane all scored 16 points apiece to lead Sherando to a 69-49 district girls’ basketball victory over the Colonels at Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium.

“Everyone was hustling up and down the court, which was a big positive and everyone played their heart out,” said Hakel, who added eight rebounds and seven steals. “We came out hard and strong and just played really good as a team [Tuesday]. We had a lot of energy and just played really good.”

Sherando (10-5, 3-2 Northwestern) led 40-35 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Warriors took control right away with 11-unanswered points.

Hakel’s hustle gave the Warriors what had been their largest lead of the contest when she took a charge underneath the Colonels’ basket and then on the ensuing Sherando possession she scored on a layup to push the advantage to 48-35 with 5:50 to go. Erin Magalis’ 3-pointer capped an 11-0 Warrior run, putting them in control the rest of the way.

“We came out and played a real nice third and fourth quarter defensively,” said Sherando coach Mike Marsh. “The fourth quarter [the Colonels] got tired and we found another breath of fresh air and were running. I didn’t realize we scored 29 points in the fourth quarter — we exploded for a lot there.”

The Colonels (10-5, 1-3) — who honored former assistant coach Tom Pollack (who lost his battle with cancer on Feb. 2, 2012) by raising over $2,000 at last night’s girls’ and boys’ basketball doubleheader for the American Cancer Society — struggled to get much going offensively at times and it didn’t help that Wood was without sophomore point guard and leading scorer Keiana Brooks (12.6 points per game), who missed Tuesday night’s game because of an ankle injury.

James Wood coach Krista Crites said her team fought hard, but it was tough because her squad definitely wasn’t at 100 percent.

“For one I don’t have my starting point guard [Brooks] and I have two with the flu,” Crites said. “Whitney [Dick] and Brooke [Nesselrodt] both have the flu, so Sherando shot much better. I thought we did much better in the first half shooting and in the second half we kind of cooled off. It was 40-35 going into the fourth and we just ran out of energy.”

The Colonels started the fourth period just 1 of 10 from the field, and the Warriors had already built a commanding 59-41 advantage by the time Wood connected on its second field goal of the fourth.

Sherando lost to James Wood 45-41 in the first meeting on Jan. 20, and Warriors junior guard Audra Sites said the team was well-prepared for Tuesday night’s rematch.

“I think this was one of our better games as a team,” said Sites, who scored nine points and had seven rebounds. “We played together and we were a lot more aggressive, so it was one of our better games.”

Sherando never trailed thanks in part to 11 consecutive points, including two 3-pointers, to start the contest. Four different Warrior players hits threes, and Brown’s 3-pointer capped the Warriors’ 11-0 run to start the game with 5:55 left. Hakel, Sites and Lane also connected from 3-point range, helping Sherando lead 22-15 at the end of the first quarter.

“We had a lot of momentum coming in and we were just excited for this game,” said Brown, who four rebounds and three blocks. “We were very energetic and aggressive. It shows that we’re not going to give up [after a loss] and we’re going to fight hard.”

Despite getting off to a slow start, the Colonels battled to stay in the contest.

Sherando went over five minutes without a field goal in the second quarter and that allowed the Colonels to cut the deficit down to three points twice before the half.

But both times Wood cut the deficit to three, Sherando answered, getting a layup from Hakel — the Warriors’ first field goal of the quarter at the 2:59 mark — and then a putback from Lane, who added five rebounds and four steals, to put Sherando ahead 26-21 with 2:26 left in the half.

James Wood cut the deficit to three again in the third after Nesselrodt’s layup made it 34-31, but Hakel nailed a 3-pointer to push the Warriors’ advantage back to six on the next trip down court. Hakel’s second 3-pointer helped Sherando take a five-point advantage into the fourth quarter before the Warriors put the game away with 29 points in the final period.

“Jess had a really great game,” Marsh said. “She had a really great floor game, and Audra played a great defensive game.”

Nesselrodt scored 10 points, Danielle Rizzari also added 10 before fouling out in the closing minute and Morgan Duncan finished with eight points for the Colonels.

“I do admire our hard work and they didn’t quit,” Crites said. “But we just fell short and didn’t finish.”

— Contact Robert Stocks at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow on Twitter @WinStarSports1