Flint Hills Girls Finally Put Away Pesky Holton-Arms

In the midst of a playing nine games in 20 days, has found itself playing some of its best basketball of the season. Coach Jody Patrick believes the Huskies depth will allow them to keep on rolling through the playoffs.

Audrey Dotson scored 16 points to lead a balanced scoring attack that was set up by a typically disruptive defense, and the Huskies beat Holton-Arms 64-43 to move into sole possession of third place in the ISL.

Flint Hill led 22-6 after one quarter, and led by as many 20 just before halftime, but the Panthers refused to go away. After a first half of quick, crisp passing that led to several open looks under the basket, and an attacking but controlled defense that committed only three fouls, momentum started to shift. The Huskies were called for six fouls in the third quarter alone, and Holton was able to knock away some passes headed inside to Dotson while cutting the lead to as little as 10.

“It goes with the territory. When you do go after the ball, sometimes you're going to [foul] them. You have to adjust if some things are being called,” Patrick said.

The adjustment didn’t take long, as Nicole Freeman hit a lay up and a 3-pointer on quick consecutive possessions thanks to a Flint Hill takeaway, and the lead was back over 20 points early in the fourth quarter.

While offensive rebounding and takeaways under the basket helped, the Huskies did hit a stretch where even easy looks at the basket weren’t falling.

“A lot of our layups we missed, but we’re getting them,” Patrick said. “It’s frustrating, but the good thing is we’re getting great shots. If you’re just throwing in junk, and you're making points but you know you're not getting good shots, that comes back to hurt you later.”

Alex Long and Claire Doyle scored 10 points apiece, and Elena Rosenblum and Freeman added nine each.

Thursday’s matchup was the first of a home-and-home with Holton that concludes on Saturday in Bethesda. The Huskies then come home for two games next week. They’ll take on Maret on Tuesday before a showdown with Georgetown Visitation on Thursday. The Huskies lost to the ISL-leading Cubs 59-58 on a buzzer beater in D.C. earlier this month.

Patrick’s main concern was that the academic year has reached a critical point, and balancing the load she puts on her team will be a pivotal task. Her depth, however, is cause for optimism.

“It’s fun to be able to go as deep as we can on the bench,” Patrick said. “I don’t think I’m going to have to worry about that too much.”