Wood Girls Hold Off Handley In Conference Tourney

Posted: February 15, 2016
By JERRY HOLSWORTH
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — With the season on the line for both teams, Handley and James Wood girls’ basketball teams squared off Saturday in a Conference 21A quarterfinal that featured all of the drama usually associated with a contest between the longtime rivals.

The game turned into a defensive struggle that included its share of turnovers and missed shots. The Colonels, thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting by Keiana Brooks, survived a desperate Handley comeback attempt to win 42-39.

But things didn’t look so close heading into the fourth quarter.

Wood dominated play through the first three periods, and led 33-24 with just eight minutes remaining. Handley, however, wasn’t in the mood to turn in its jerseys and rallied in the final quarter to put the game in doubt.

Trailing 35-28 with 6:11 to play, the Judges went on an 8-2 run that put Handley within one, 37-36, with 1:12 left on the clock. Jay Cain was a driving force in the Judges’ run, scoring six points.

“I thought that we got complacent in the fourth quarter,” Colonel coach Krista Crites said. “We wanted to slow the tempo, but not stop scoring. Handley (10-8) switched to a man defense, which was a good change for them. We made our free throws at the end and had a couple of important turnovers that were vital in preserving the victory.”

A basket and pair of free throws by Brooks put the Colonels (14-7) back ahead 41-36 with 36 seconds left, but a foul on a 3-point attempt by Cain with 13 seconds on the clock sent the Handley senior to the line with a chance to erase Brooks’ heroics. Cain hit all three free throws to narrow Wood’s lead to 41-39.

The Judges quickly fouled Brooks after Cain’s free throws, but the Colonel senior hit the first of her two attempts to seal the victory.

“That was really stressful,” Brooks said. “Earlier this season we had a game where I was put in the same position as tonight, and I missed my free throws. I’ve been working hard since then on my free throws, and I was able come through tonight.”

The final period, however, was much more than just a battle between Cain and Brooks. Both teams’ defenses played furiously. The Judges turned the ball over four times, but also forced six Wood turnovers.

It took three quarters, however, for the Judges to come alive, and Wood made them pay dearly for their lack of production.

With the Colonels leading 13-11 heading into the second quarter, a brilliant performance by Wood center Grace Greene left Handley in the dust.

Three times over the first half of the second period, Greene turned a missed Colonel field goal attempt into points after an offensive rebound and putback. The Colonel senior finished the night with 16 points, inlcuding 14 in the first half.

“Grace has done that all year,” Crites said. “She takes great pride in her rebounding. That’s her game, and its one of the main reasons why we’ve been successful this year.”

With Greene dominating play in the paint, Wood steadily expanded its lead for a 28-19 advantage at the half.

“I’m very confident when I set up on the left side of the basket for rebounds,” Greene said. “I wanted to be in position so if they missed the shot I would be there for the putback. In the second half I thought that we forgot that we had to shoot the ball when we have an open shot, and not just hold it.”

With the Judges reeling offensively, Handley came out and played defense with a vengeance in the second half.

Handley limited Wood to just five field goals attempts in the third period, and forced six Colonel turnovers. Handley, however, was even worse on offense, hitting just 2-of-8 from the field and missing all but one of its four free-throw opportunities.

Both teams generated only five points each during the period, setting up the dramatic final quarter.

In addition to Greene, Brooks also scored 16 points for the night, including seven critical points in the final period.

The Judges were led by Cain, who finished the night with 16 points — including nine in the final period. Angelica Robinson also scored in double figures with 14 points for Handley.

“We played so hard tonight,” Handley coach Randi Jones said. “We did everything we needed to do, we just didn’t make our shots. We missed a lot of layups, and we missed seven free throws. But I’m very proud of our effort. They did everything we asked of them and more. I can’t emphasize enough how hard we played tonight. We just didn’t make the shots when we needed to.”