Sherando girls' 14 3-pointers sink James Wood

STEPHENS CITY — With five minutes and 30 seconds left in the second quarter on Tuesday, the Sherando girls' basketball team had yet to make a two-point field goal attempt or attempt a free throw.

That would be a recipe for disaster for most teams, but Sherando and its fans were loving every bit of the game at that point. The good times never really stopped in the Class 4 Northwestern District semifinals against James Wood.

Ten of Sherando's first 16 field goal attempts were from 3-point range, and the Warriors hit six of them to go up 18-11 with 5:42 left in the second quarter. Second-seeded Sherando would go on to sink eight more 3-pointers for a total of 14 and finish with a 60-44 win against the No. 3 Colonels.

The Warriors (20-3) never trailed, with senior Grace Burke (career-high 29 points) connecting on the first of her career-high eight 3-pointers at the 6:47 mark of the first quarter for the game's first points. A 3-pointer by Asia Williams with 21 seconds left in the half made it 29-17 and gave the Warriors a double-digit lead for good against James Wood (16-8), which was paced by 25 points from District Player of the Year Brynna Nesselrodt.

In winning the rubber match between the two Frederick County rivals, Sherando snapped the Colonels' nine-game winning streak and earned a Region 4C tournament berth for the second straight season. The semifinals are next Tuesday.

First, the Warriors will travel to take on No. 1 Millbrook (19-5), a 61-22 winner over No. 4 Kettle Run in Tuesday's other semifinal, at 6 p.m. on Friday in the district championship game. Millbrook is 2-1 against Sherando this year, including a victory in a playoff for the top seed in the district tournament and a region tournament berth last week.

James Wood normally uses a 1-3-1 zone, and the Colonels' defense played exceptionally in beating Sherando 40-38 in their last matchup on Jan. 20. On Friday, Sherando hit 8 of 15 3-pointers in the first half, and knocked down five more in the third quarter to build a 49-32 lead. The Colonels cut their deficit to 11, but Burke made the crowd erupt when she knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 56-42 with 2:15 left.

Sherando coach Brooklyn Wilson couldn't have asked for much more from the team's offensive execution. The Warriors had good ball movement to set up those 3-pointers (assists on 19 of 21 baskets) and only had 12 turnovers.

"We had good looks last game [against the 1-3-1] when they beat us. We just shot the ball really poorly. Clearly, that was not an issue tonight," Wilson said.with a laugh. "It certainly helps when you're raining shots and making 3's and finishing well. But we knew whatever they threw at us, we'd see a lot of pressure. They get a lot of steals. But I thought we handled that pretty well."

Freshman Aliza Murray (11 points, three 3-pointers, three assists) and Williams (three 3-pointers for nine points, seven assists) did plenty of damage as well, whether they were shooting or swinging the ball. Williams had only made six 3-pointers all year,.

"Once I hit my first one, I just kind of felt it," Burke said. "It's just a great feeling when not only I'm making 3's, but then you can give it to other people for the same result."

James Wood coach Sanford Silver said the Colonels didn't close out on shooters well enough.

"We were in a 1-3-1, but wherever the shooters were, we were supposed to play man defense," Silver said. "It didn't work out too well for us. It did later [in the fourth quarter[, but we needed a better start."

The Colonels could have used a better start on offense as well. James Wood made only 6 of 20 field goal attempts and 3 of 11 free throws in the first half. Nesselrodt scored 16 of 25 points after halftime and finished with eight rebounds.

Sherando's defensive effort was one of many things Wilson was pleased with on Friday. It's been a difficult season for the Warriors with the death of Williams' father, but Williams and her teammates have persevered and are now back in the regional tournament.

"I'm just really proud of the girls. It's been a long season and we faced a lot of adversity," Wilson said. "We told them if we could come together tonight and put a really good game together, we'd have a really nice shot at winning. They played as a team tonight."

Also for Sherando, Emma Clark scored seven points and Jaiden Polston had five assists and two steals. James Wood's Josie Russell had eight points and 10 rebounds and Jolie Jenkins scored eight points.

Silver said the Colonels have a lot to be proud of as well. James Wood graduated eight seniors from last year's team and this year featured just one returning starter and one senior in Nesselrodt, and nine sophomores and freshmen. The Colonels started the year 1-5 and avenged losses to Kettle Run, Sherando and Millbrook after losing the initial matchups against those teams. Silver will miss the skill and leadership Nesselrodt displayed to lift James Wood to its successful season.

"We surpassed what my expectations were for this team, being so young," Silver said. "For them to be so resilient, having an ugly start and finishing with a winning record, we couldn't ask for more. I am proud of them, and we have a lot to look forward to."

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

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