Talented Raiders overwhelm Wood

By Jerry Holsworth - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

LEESBURG -- James Wood's girls basketball team got a painful lesson in what it's like to visit the defending Group AA state champions in their gym.

Loudoun County, despite the absence of last year's Group AA, Division 4 Player of the Year Kendra Holmes, converted 13 3-point shots to leave the Colonels in the dust 83-36 on Tuesday in the opening round of the Region II tournament.

"Hopefully this was a learning experience for our younger players," James Wood coach Rhonda Slider said. "We knew coming into the game that this was going to be really tough. I hope that our younger girls now know what it takes to compete on this level." The Raiders were led by guard Brittany Bates, who broke her own school record for 3-pointers in a single game. The Loudoun County junior connected on nine 3-pointers for the game, including four in the second quarter, to finish the night with a game-high 31 points.

"Brittany is one of the top scorers in the state this year," Raiders coach Kevin Reed said. "You can see what she's capable of doing in a basketball game and why she's getting a lot of interest from college coaches even though she's just a junior."

While Bates and company were lighting up the scoreboard, the Loudoun County defense focused on causing James Wood problems getting the ball into scoring position, and stopping the Colonels' most prolific scorer, Heather Armel.

James Wood committed 11 turnovers in the first quarter alone, and finished the night with 33. When the Colonels did manage to get the ball across midcourt against the Raiders' press, things didn't get any easier. Wood hit just 1-of-11 field-goal attempts in the opening period.

Armel, one of the area's best 3-point shooters, rarely got a good look at the basket and failed to score a field goal during the game.

"I live in Stephens City, so I've seen Heather play a lot," Reed said. "She's a tremendous player and [a] dangerous scorer. Our game plan was to make her put the ball on the floor to get open for a shot. Every time she got the ball, one of our players [would] run straight at her."

With James Wood unable to get much going in the first quarter, Loudoun County was able to build a 17-5 lead after eight minutes of play.

"We knew that it was going to be really tough playing them on the road," Colonels forward Tori Eaton said. "But this was my last game for James Wood, and I was determined not to give up."

Eaton's determination was one of the bright spots for James Wood. While Bates was connecting on four 3-pointers and leading Loudoun County to a 37-16 halftime lead, Eaton was doing her best to match her point for point.

Wood went just 5-for-14 from the field in the second period, and Eaton had four of those buckets. The Colonels senior finished the night with a team-high 16 points, just three short of her career high of 19.

"It was good to end my career that way," Eaton said. "They're a really good team. I'm disappointed that we couldn't have done better, though. But I've learned a lot this year."

Loudoun County replaced the injured Holmes with sophomore Casey Cummings, and she had a good night defending James Wood center Shannan Thorne, who scored just four points through three periods of play. The Colonels junior finished the game with 11 points, but seven of them came in the final period when Cummings was on the bench.

"Not having Holmes is never a good thing," Reed said. "But it gave us an opportunity to get some quality minutes for Casey in a big game. That will pay big dividends for us down the road."