Girls' basketball Player of the Year: James Wood's Makayla Firebaugh

In the blink of an eye, James Wood standout Makayla Firebaugh could see her much-anticipated senior season coming to an abrupt end.

After suffering a leg injury in the second quarter of the season-opener against Clarke County, Firebaugh thought the worst.

“It hurt me. I was so scared that I couldn’t have played any more,” the Colonels guard said. “That’s the first thought that went through my mind. I was like, ‘This is not happening right now. I need to play. I love the game of basketball.’”

The injury cost Firebaugh two games and a lot of pain, but once she was back on the court she helped lead James Wood to a share of the Class 4 Northwestern District regular-season title and to a Region 4C semifinal berth for the second consecutive season.

The school record-shattering guard, who is headed to Division I Rider, is The Winchester Star’s Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Firebaugh, who surpassed 2,000 career points and broke her own single-game scoring record with 44 points during the season for the Colonels (22-5), was concerned she’d never play again after being injured in the first half against Clarke County on Dec. 5.

Sitting out practice and watching a couple of games didn’t help.

“Oh my gosh, I kept trying to get the doctor to clear me,” Firebaugh said. “She was like, ‘I won’t clear you until you’re good.’ I didn’t care that I was in pain. I just wanted to play.

“Sitting out and watching, I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I need to play. I don’t care how much pain I’m in.’ I was like, ‘Let me suffer through it.’ I even told Coach [Krista] Crites, ‘I don’t care if you see me limping let me play.’ I was like, ‘When I’ve had enough, I’ll tell you when I’ve had enough and then you can take me out.’ But she wouldn’t. I’m glad she didn’t because I ended up having an abnormal bone fracture sort of with my fibula and that could have been really bad if I continued to play on it.”

But Crites understood Firebaugh’s drive to get back on the court and it was obvious how much she was missed. The Colonels went 1-1 and struggled in the two games Firebaugh was out.

“I don’t even know how to describe when you have a player like Makayla,” Crites said. “I don’t know how to describe her. You can’t really put into words how amazing she is on and off the court and how vital she is to a team in general, not even from an athletic standpoint, but how she is personally as a leader for the team.

“When she had to sit out those two games, we realized as a coaching staff and from a player standpoint how vital she is. She’s your general on the floor.”

Firebaugh certainly came back with a vengeance scoring a game-high 27 points in a 55-37 win over Sherando as Crites won for the first time against the Warriors in Stephens City.

“When I came back, it still hurt, but it was going to hurt,” said Firebaugh of the injury “They said be smart about your movements and I was like ‘OK.’ It continued to hurt for like five more weeks.”

Firebaugh didn’t play like it bothered her. She would go on to average an area-best 24.2 points per game. She’d finish the season in the Top 8 in every major statistical category reported on by The Star.

And for someone who has lit up the scoreboard in record fashion at James Wood, this season Firebaugh was focused on defense.

“I think each year Makayla has improved,” Crites said. “The one thing that we noticed early this year was that she had improved on her defense. She’s always so well known for what she does offensively. People tend to forget that she plays pretty good defense as well. That was something she took on herself. … That was one of the things she wanted to focus on for her. It was a personal goal for her.”

“I was a little slow with my footwork,” Firebaugh explained. “I worked a lot on my footwork skills over the offseason and throughout the summer last year. I worked on my explosiveness and my running form so I could be faster.”

Firebaugh, who would lead the area with 5.1 steals per game, said the desire to improve defensively actually transfers to the offensive end.

“If I get more defensive steals, I’ll get more offensive opportunities,” she said. “The more defensive stops I make the more chance I will have of scoring. And, it’s just something about locking someone down during a game that makes you feel good. I really liked that.”

Firebaugh’s play transferred in all areas. She’d finish second to teammate Jenny Kerns in assists (2.7 per game), finish seventh in the area in rebounding (6.0) and fourth in blocked shots (0.9).

Crites also said that Firebaugh spent the season mentoring freshman Brynna Nesselrodt, who would finish 10th in the area in scoring (9.6).

Nesselrodt joined seniors Brenna Prunty, Sue Carter, Kerns and Firebaugh in a starting lineup that thrived and shared the ball.

“Makayla needed to be able to contribute to the team other than just scoring and her teammates needed to contribute when she wasn’t scoring,” Crites explained. “I think that was why we were so successful this year because they embraced that. They understood for us to do the things we did they had to have other scorers. That’s what they did.”

The Colonels would battle with Millbrook for the district regular-season title. The Pioneers won Round 1, but the second clash came on the final day of the regular season and on James Wood’s Senior Day at Shirley Gymnasium.

“They were ready to play that game,” Crites said. “In the four years that I’ve had those seniors, that was the most focused and most vocal that I had seen all four of them be. Makayla and Brenna Prunty, they don’t usually say a whole lot. It was a big emotional night for them anyway, but they really stepped up in the locker room and really got everybody fired up to go.”

Prunty (23 points), Firebaugh (17) and Nesselrodt (16) led a great all-around effort as the Colonels ended Millbrook’s 21-game winning streak with a 67-59 victory.

“It didn’t feel real at first,” said Firebaugh, who plays summer basketball with many of the Pioneers. “At the end of the game, I paused and was like, ‘Did we just …?’ And then it just hit me, ‘Wow, we just beat Millbrook.’ That’s an accomplishment to say.

“Everyone was on that game and we knew that’s what we needed. Everybody needed to have a good game. … Everybody just clicked that night. It was a joy to see everybody having a good time and still being competitive at the same time.”

The Pioneers would get the last two matchups (a tiebreaker game and a win in the district tournament), but the Colonels made the Region 4C semifinals before falling to eventual regional champion Loudoun Valley.

In a record-breaking season for the team, Firebaugh added to incredible numbers in the James Wood record book. She’ll now leave first all-time in points (2,031), points in a game (44), points in a season (612), 3-pointers made (189) and 3-pointers made in a season (62). She’s also second on the school list in rebounds (641) and steals (345) and fourth in assists (264).

The numbers are mind-blowing to Firebaugh, who says people often mistakenly think she knows what her statistics are during each game.

“Honestly when I start a ballgame, my mind kind of goes blank and something just takes over,” she said. “My teammates just know how to get me the ball when I need the ball. They set screens if I have people on me. They help me score and they want me to score.”

One perfect example came as she broke her own previous school record with 44 points against Handley this season. At halftime, Firebaugh had lit up the Judges for 30 points.

“Honestly, I was just kind of playing and I had a really good game,” Firebaugh said. “Somebody came up to me at the end of halftime and said, ‘Do you realize you have 30 points right now?’ I thought they were just messing with me and I said, ‘Yeah, right. You’re funny.’

“Then all of a sudden Coach Crites [comes] to me. I was like, ‘Yeah, somebody told me I have 30 points.’ She looks at me and she goes, ‘You do.’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t.’ She was like, ‘You have 30 points right now.’ And I was like, ‘Oh.’”

Now it’s on to Rider and Firebaugh can’t wait for the next big challenge. And she knows it will be a challenge playing Division I basketball for the Broncos, who were 26-4 this past season under Lynn Milligan.

“I feel like I’m going to need to push myself harder,” Firebaugh said. “This year, it was a good prepare year to like work myself and keep working. But once I get there, it’s going to shock me even more because you don’t know what to expect.

“I love a challenge and I love accomplishing a challenge,” she added. “I don’t know why I have so much competitiveness in me. I have to be the best at what I do. I just love challenges and proving people wrong who say I can’t do it.”

Firebaugh, the district Player of the Year and Region 4C Co-Player of the Year for the second straight season, said she will miss competing with and being around her fellow seniors and the James Wood coaches.

Crites, who plans to drive to New Jersey to see Firebaugh play, says the feeling is mutual.

“She’s just changed James Wood,” Crites said. “She’s changed me as a person and as a coach. She makes me love the game more just watching her play. I loved the game as a player, but she made me love this game even more as a coach, just to watch her grow and succeed.

“What she means to me and to this program, she is irreplaceable for me. I’ll be 30 years from now and I’ll be like, ‘Wow, she was a really good basketball player.’ She’s going to impact me for the rest of my life.”

— Contact Walt Moody at
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