January 22, 2011
By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- There were many times Friday that it appeared as if the James Wood girls' basketball team very well might come back on Handley.

Fortunately for the Judges, every time Corin Scott sensed it might happen, she kicked her game up another notch.

Scott scored a game-high 29 points, including 16 in the final 8 minutes and 13 seconds, to lift Handley to a 66-53 Northwestern District victory over the Colonels Friday at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium.

"I don't know why - when I feel like we're down or we're not up enough, I just start to go," Scott said.

The first quarter suggested that the Judges (6-7, 1-2 Northwestern) would cruise. They led 12-2 after eight minutes, and they led by as much as 15 in the second quarter.

But at the end, they needed everything they could get from Scott to finish off the Colonels (8-8, 0-3).

A 3-pointer by Katelyn Pennington brought James Wood to within six at 41-35 with 23 seconds left in the third, but Scott's driving layup 10 seconds later and her jumper four seconds into the fourth put Handley up 10. James Wood found itself down six again with 40 seconds left, but thanks to four Scott free throws, Handley took a 62-52 lead and held on.

Judges coach Marvin Scott, who is Corin's father, said he'll take the win, but he'd rather not let teams hang around like that.

"You have to play eight minutes for four quarters all the time," he said. "When you're on that floor, you've got to give 100 percent. Sometimes it was not a great team effort. We'd take a break, and then we'd step back up.

"It's an ugly win. But a win's a win."

Tanesha Harris added 15 points and five steals for the Judges.

The Colonels - who were led by Shannan Thorne (19 points, 13 rebounds) and Kelsey Seymour (19 points) picked up their play significantly when they went to man defense after playing zone in the first half.

But James Wood coach Rhonda Slider said her team started too slow, and the Colonels made too many mistakes to win. They had 34 turnovers and made just 12 of 27 free throws.

"[Handley] played a good game, but I don't know if we played to our potential," Slider said. "We had too many turnovers. Just not a good game today. We'll come back on Monday and be ready to go."

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