Sports

Girls Basketball: Cougars Advance to District Final

Oakton outlasts Centreville in Concorde District semifinal

Despite offensive struggles, the Oakton High girls basketball team defeated the Centreville Wildcats 48-37 in the Concorde District semifinals to advance to the title game.

In their lowest-scoring game of the season, the Cougars' offense was slow from the start. The Cougars posted 10 points in the first period, and fell just short of 20 points before halftime to put the score at 19-12.

The Cougar offense did not turn around after halftime, as their first points of the second half did not come for more than three minutes when junior Helen Roberts sank two free throws. They scored 12 more points for a 31-21 advantage heading into the fourth.

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The Wildcats worked their way back into contention to cut the deficit to five points in the fourth period, but the Cougars again pulled away. The Wildcats attempting to lengthen the game through fouls, but the Cougars met the challenge, netting nine out of nine attempts to account for more than half of their fourth period points.

"I thought Centreville played with a lot of energy and they got us to lose balls we should've gotten to," said Fred Priester, head coach of the Cougars. "And they did a good job on the boards. They brought enough to make it difficult for us to score."

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But through their offensive woes, the Cougars kept up a strong defense. In the first two matchups between the teams, the Cougars held the Wildcats to 41 and 31 points. On Wednesday, the Cougars held the Wildcats to 37, keeping pace with their previous defensive performances.

"We did the same job we've been doing defensively. We held them to 37 points, we just couldn't score ourselves," Priester said. "It's good on some level because we're going to play closer games so we have to figure out what we can do to win them."

The Cougars will face the Chantilly Chargers at 6 p.m. Friday for the title game at Centreville High School.

Points: Caroline Coyer (14), Elizabeth Manner (8), Karlie Cronin (7), Katherine Coyer (6), Angela Sickels (6), Helen Roberts (5), Torri Marquis (2)


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