A 17-0 run across the first and second quarters propelled Oakton to the second round of the Northern Region tournament, as the Cougars never looked back, beating Annandale 66-38 on Monday.
“They’re very good shooters, they’re very quick and they have great guards,” said Annandale coach Patrick Hughes. “We tried to battle with them, but they certainly gave us a lot of problems in different areas, but I was very proud with how our girls played.”
Four Cougars scored in double figures, with Zora Stephenson leading the way with 16 points. Caroline Coyer had 13, Danielle Davis scored 12 and Elizabeth Manner added 10.
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“We came out with a mission,” Stephenson said. “Some of our games have been close in the district, so we wanted to get ourselves back into it.”
In the first quarter, Annandale showed the Cougars they would not be intimidated by the top team in the region, with Diana Hurtado sinking a pair of shots to keep the Atoms within one point. But soon enough, the Oakton talent started to take hold, as baskets by Nesil Ozcan and Stephenson sparked a 14-0 run to end the first quarter.
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After the run reached 17-0, Annandale responded with three straight baskets to cut into the lead but Oakton continued its offensive dominance, thanks to shooting by Stephenson and Coyer to put the Cougars up 28-14 at the half.
But Oakton coach Fred Priester still saw areas for the Oakton girls to improve.
“There were some times during the game where it felt like we didn’t handle the ball well enough,” Priester said. “There were also times where we didn’t play as good of defense as we should have either.”
The teams came out hot in the second half, as the teams combined for 38 points in the third quarter. Oakton got the best of it, extending its lead to 20 points.
“We’re sad that we lost because we wanted to win for our seniors,” said Annandale junior Jackie Bethea. “But I think we’re well set for the future. We have a lot of young girls on our team and we’ll be ready next season.”
With the victory, Oakton advances to the quarterfinals where they will host crosstown rivals Madison at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
For insight into how Priester has shaped his team into champions, watch Oakton Patch's audio slideshow of a recent girls basketball practice by clicking .