The girls’ basketball team ended their season with a 52-35 loss against the Churchill Bulldogs in the regional semifinals on Monday, March 3. The game was no-doubt a crushing blow to a team who had high hopes coming into the season.
The two teams had played twice during the regular season, splitting the series with each team winning one game. The three-seeded Cats had just easily sidestepped past their first round matchup against the six-seeded Gaithersburg Trojans 58-15, while the Bulldogs had been awarded a first-round bye over WJ courtesy of a coin toss.
The game started out every bit favorable for the Bulldogs, who charged out from the get-go, swiping the first six points of the game. The Bulldogs had a 10-3 lead when Wildcats coach Chris Donlon called a much-needed timeout. The Cats put up three points at the end of the first, putting themselves in an early hole through getting outplayed and out-rebounded.
The Cats came into the second quarter with a new strategy: a full-court press. The Cats pressed early on to try to poach any loose balls and create turnovers. While the press somewhat limited the Bulldogs’ dominance, the quarter was mostly even between the two teams. Sophomore guard Mira Mann hit a three pointer with five seconds left in the half to make it an eight-point game at halftime.
If ever there was a moment it seemed the Wildcats had momentum on their side, it was the third quarter; senior captain Kendall Alexander got an and-1 on the receiving end of an inbounds pass from Mann. After a forced Churchill turnover, Alexander added a reverse layup making it a four-point game. Add in a subsequent three-pointer from junior Norah Youssef and the Cats all of a sudden made it a one-point game.
While Churchill got a three-pointer off their own, Youssef shot yet another three on the next possession, forcing Chuchill to use a timeout to take a breath from the Cats’ jab at their ever-so-shrinking one-point lead.
Churchill came out of that timeout with renewed energy and went on a seven-point run in the last three-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter. The third-quarter excitement was washed away as if it never happened.
The fourth quarter didn’t get any better for WJ, as Churchill again scored the first eight points. Those fifteen unanswered points proved to be the difference maker in the game, as WJ couldn’t dig themselves out of a hole that deep that late in the game.
senior Naamiah Corke said. “I’m proud of everyone, everyone’s individual growth and the growth of the team.”
Despite the tough loss, the Cats say they still have a lot to be proud of this season. Having beaten B-CC and tied the regular-season school record, this season was a season to remember for WJ girls’ basketball.
“Throughout the season, we all got a lot closer and we learned from each other. And we all benefited from each other because we learned new things,” junior Emilia Starzyk said. “This year we were a lot more together as a team than we were in other years. When we work together as a team we play better than we don’t.”
The Cats now turn their attention to next year, where the current sophomores and juniors look forward to getting better during the offseason in preparation for a brand new season.
“I think there’s a lot of things we need to do [for next season},” Mann said. “We’re losing three very good players, they brought a lot to the program. I think we need to do a lot, we could’ve done a better job keeping our composure and that helped us leading up to that moment. I think next year, especially after the loss yesterday, I think we’re all going to want it a little bit more. So I think that’s going to lead to a regional championship, or even further.”
