James Wood girls edge Sherando on emotional night

STEPHENS CITY — Friday’s high school girls’ basketball matchup between James Wood and Sherando figured to be an emotional contest even before the tip-off.

Players and coaches from both teams wore T-shirts in warm-ups in memory of Brooke Nesselrodt, the older sister of current Colonels star Brynna Nesselrodt, who died five years ago on Jan. 12. Both teams also wore red socks in the memory of Clyde Williams, the father of current Sherando point guard Asia Williams who passed away on Jan. 8 of this year.

The contest wouldn’t be settled until the final seconds, with Brynna Nesselrodt supplying the winning margin. Nesselrodt scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in the final quarter, including two free throws with 14.7 seconds remaining, to lift the Colonels to a 40-38 Class 4 Northwestern District victory against the Warriors.

“I really wanted to make it a memorable game for her,” Nesselrodt said of her sister. “I know that she wanted that and it was fun to be able to perform like that.”

Nesselrodt said that she appreciated everyone wearing the T-shirt which said, “In memory of Brooke” on the front and had “Nesselrodt” and her sister’s No. 25 on the back. She also pleased to honor Williams.

“Asia, we played and grew up together,” Nesselrodt said. “She saw my sister a lot. The coaches knew her. It was just a good atmosphere and everybody respects each other. … We had the red socks, too. I think we both had a respectful night for each other. We were able to talk to each other before and after the game. It’s nice that we were able to come together and be there for each other.”

The loss was just the second of the season for the Warriors (15-2, 7-2) and dropped them two games in the loss column behind Millbrook (8-0) and to within a game of the Colonels (11-7, 6-3) in the district standings. James Wood avenged a 59-40 loss to the Warriors on Dec. 8.

“We came out just so flat,” Sherando coach Brooklyn Wilson said. “We weren’t playing our game and were just kind of reactive to what they were doing, instead of executing our plan.”

Maddie Shirley nailed a three-pointer and Jolie Jenkins had four points as the Colonels vaulted to a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest. The lead grew as large as 13-5 before Aliza Murray scored five points to get Sherando to within 15-10 at the end of the period.

But as poorly as it started for the Warriors, they took control in the second quarter. Grace Burke had eight points as they scored the first 13 points of the period. Nesselrodt’s 3-pointer with 45 seconds left in the half were the Colonels’ only points in the period as Sherando led 23-18.

James Wood turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter and with Jaiden Polston in foul trouble the Warriors’ offense struggled. The Colonels were able to close to within 28-26 heading into the final period.

“Jaiden just doesn’t bring so much skill to the floor, she brings an intensity that no other player does,” Wilson said. “It’s not a knock on the other girls. It is just how incredible she is. When her presence is not on the floor, it is missed in all aspects of the game. That’s something we’re going to learn to figure out.”

Angry at how she had shot the ball at times through three quarters, Nesselrodt caught fire in the fourth period. She drilled a pair of 3-pointers during an 8-3 run that put the Colonels ahead 36-32 with 3:30 remaining.

“I really wanted to win,” said Nesselrodt, the area’s leading scorer at 20.6 points per game. “I knew I had to kind of try to take control of everything.”

“She’s an incredible player.” Wilson said of Nesselrodt. “She’s tough to guard. She reminds me of Jaiden in the sense that if you get a big on her she can take them outside and score from deep. And if you put a guard on her, she’s going to take you inside and score on you there.”

The Warriors fought back to tie it as Murray had a steal and layup and Polston took a rebound coast-to-coast, but Nesselrodt’s left-hander put the Colonels back up 38-36 with 2:05 left.

Sherando drew even again on Emma Clark’s layup on a feed from Burke with just under a minute left. The Colonels then patiently worked the ball around to feed Nesselrodt, who was fouled with 14.7 seconds left. A 75 percent foul shooter, Nesselrodt swished both.

Sherando brought the ball up, but after the offense stalled Wilson called a timeout with 5.8 seconds left. Hoping to get Burke an open look from the corner, the Warriors had to settle for a long 3-pointer from Murray that did not draw iron.

“I would have liked a better look obviously,” Wilson said. “It’s tough on plays like that because, yes, a shot could have tied it or won it, but we have to look at the other 35 minutes of the game and the other shots which could have won it.”

The triumph set off a huge celebration at the James Wood bench, with Nesselrodt in the middle after the final quarter heroics. She also had 13 rebounds in the contest.

“It’s just like the Lord let the angel just come right down,” Silver said of Nesselrodt providing the clinching the points. “It was a perfect setting for a perfect win, especially by No. 3.”

Nesselrodt closed to within 13 points of 1,000 for her career, a remarkable number considering she missed her entire sophomore season (abbreviated by COVID-19) with an injury.

Jenkins added eight points, while Shirley notched seven and Josie Russell grabbed 10 rebounds.

“I think this is a major benchmark for how James Wood has improved from the beginning until now,” Silver said. “When we faced them earlier, we were a lot younger than what we are now. … We came into this game sticking to what we were doing and trying to force turnovers and playing to our defense to set up our offense. I think we did an awesome job doing that.”

“We are getting better,” Nesselrodt said. “I think we are playing all together as a team consistently. We are getting better and better each game.”

Burke led the Warriors with 11 points, while Murray had nine. Polston had eight points, 12 rebounds and four steals, while spending a big chunk of the second half in foul trouble.

Last winter, the Warriors also dropped a late-season contest against the Colonels, but went on to earn the first state berth on program history. Wilson believes her team can rebound this season, too.

“It’s certainly not the outcome we wanted, especially for our seniors tonight, but looking forward we can still put ourselves in a good spot at the end of this season and can make a postseason run and go even farther than last year,” she said. “Tonight was not our night in all aspects of the game, so it’s a good lesson to learn. You have to come prepared and ready to play and if you don’t this is what can happen.”

Both coaches praised their teams on a moving evening.

“It was emotional for both schools,” Silver said. “So hat’s off to both schools for coming in here for such an emotional game and showing so much love for each other and to have a game come down to the final possession.”

“We try to enforce to our girls that it’s so much bigger than basketball,” Wilson said. “There’s so much going on outside of you and your own world. We teach them to try to be compassionate and empathetic. And, it’s not a hard job because our girls are that way naturally.”

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