By Angela Watts
Senior Content Editor, DigitalSports.com
**Look below the story to find two video players with highlights from Thursay’s semifinal action … one each from the Lee-Madison and Yorktown-W.T. Woodson games.
When the final buzzer sounded on No. 4 Lee’s 53-49 victory over No. 3 Madison Thursday night, there was as much relief as there was satisfaction displayed on behalf of the Lancers.
Lee, widely regarded as one of the four-best teams in the Northern Region throughout the regular-season, had knocked off the lone remaining No. 1 seed in the semifinal round at George Mason University’s Patriot Center.
The nightcap brought more explicit joy from eighth-ranked W.T. Woodson, which banged loudly on its locker room doors and squealed with excitement after a 54-41 victory over Yorktown in the second half of the semifinal double-header.
The Cavaliers were not expected to advance out of the top half of the bracket that included powerhouses — and No. 1 seeds — T.C. Williams and Oakton.
But W.T. Woodson did, securing a beth in the upcoming state tournament as well.
“This is awesome,” said Cavaliers’ Coach Pat Neri, whose team improved to 20-6 on the year. “It’s like a dream journey right now for our kids.”
Lee Coach Rudy Coffield was equally excited for his team, which despite being 24-3 was prematurely knocked out of the Patriot District tournament and fell to a No. 3 seed entering regional play.
“That’s playoff basketball, baby,” Coffield said of the Lancers, whose team trailed 45-40 with 4 minutes, 6 seconds remaining before making its run. “We knew that if we could just keep it close and stay in it we could find out if they could finish or not. We knew [Madison was] going to be tough. They’re 26-1. Come on. But we just wanted to stay close and see if they could finish.
“I’ve been telling the girls all year long that defense wins championships. We’ve got six or seven kids that can put the ball in the hole, but it don’t mean jack if we can’t stop anybody.”
But the Lancers did contain Madison senior standout Marygrace Jay, limiting her to just seven of her 17 points in the second half when they made their comeback. Lee, meanwhile, was led by junior Kristine Mial’s game-high 25 points, while senior J’Quita Babineaux added 12.
Trailing 47-46 with 1:56 to play, Lee took its first lead since the midway-point of the third quarter on two successful free throws by Mial. The Lancers hit seven foul shots in the game’s final two minutes to secure their victory.
“Kristine is a phenomenal player,” Coffield said. “She gives us what we need, and all the garbage down the stretch. She’s our go-to player.”
Said Madison Coach Denise Weinig: “I guess I’m just severely disappointed. But Lee, they were a great team tonight. I thought they were going to miss some shots, but Babineaux and Mial just make some brilliant moves to the basket and we just — I felt like we didn’t match up well against them. … We couldn’t get into our half-court offense, which is when we’re at our best.
“So many times the ball got tipped out of our hands on rebounds or just the pressure on us. I don’t know if we had seen that type of pressure all year.”
The Cavaliers had an easier go of it in the night’s second game, jumping to a 27-21 lead with 3:01 remaining in the first half on a three-point shot by Ashley Thompson (15 points), one of only two seniors on the Cavaliers’ roster. W.T. Woodson, led by senior center Sarah Schoof’s game-high 19 points, did not relinquish its lead on Yorktown the entire second half.
“We’re all just so excited,” Thompson said. “We’re freaking out right now we’re so happy. We always knew it was possible
“I think we played really hard. We got it into our post player, Sarah Schoof, and she was making some major shots. Melissa Gallo was hitting her shots like always, Leah Bonuccelli was driving the basket really strong and, of course, Becca Bajkowski was dribbling like I could never even think about dribbling.
“It feels amazing.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
GAME 1
No. 4 Lee 11 12 15 15 — 53
No. 3 Madison 11 14 13 11 — 49
Lee — Mial 10 5-10 25; Babineaux 6 0-3 12; Williams 2 2-5 7; Gropp 1 2-2 4; Hopkins 0 4-4 4; Moseh 0 1-2 1. Team totals: 19 14-25 53. Madison — Wimmer 8 2-4 18; Jay 7 3-4 17; Stiegler 2 2-2 7; Suprise 2 0-0 4; Kavanagh 1 0-0 2; Landry 0 1-2 1. Team totals: 20 8-12 49. Three-pointers — Lee 1 (Williams); Madison 1 (Stiegler).
GAME 2
Yorktown 10 12 11 8 — 41
No. 8 W.T. Woodson 10 17 12 15 — 54
Yorktown — Rogers 5 2-4 12; Charity 4 1-2 9; Rennert 2 3-4 7; Brice 2 0-0 5; Ripy 2 1-1 5; Huffman 1 1-2 3. Team totals: 16 8-13 41. W.T. Woodson — Schoof 9 1-2 19; Thompson 5 2-2 15; Gallo 3 4-4 10; Bonuccelli 3 2-2 8; Griffin 0 2-2 2; Lowe 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 21 11-14 54. Three-pointers — Yorktown 1 (Brice); W.T. Woodson 3 (Thompson 3).
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