By Kyle Gotimer
LoCoSports Journalist
Leesburg (Jan. 18, 2015) – During the halftime break of the boys edition of the Battle of the Burg doubleheader between Loudoun County High School and Heritage High School, Loudoun County senior guard Tayler Tibbits and the Lady Raiders basketball team took the court to honor our veterans and speak about the Wounded Warrior Project.
“[Hoops for Heroes] means a lot and it adds pressure to our games,” Tibbits said. “This is our third year. Maggie Phillips started it, and I helped because both of our dads were in the military and it really means a lot to us.”
Loudoun County hosted guest speaker Sgt. Matthew Pellington to speak on behalf of injured veterans.
“I think it was a wonderful idea, and it was pretty inspiring to see a community come together to support this cause. It means a great deal to me,” Pellington said. “It was a great show of patriotism and is also a good way of getting the youth involved in current issues. Anytime that anybody can do something to support charity it’s just a wonderful thing to do.”
The Lady Raiders took time to pass out shirts and thank the veterans in attendance followed by the singing of “God Bless America” led by Loudoun County students Elisabeth Gianelos and Maria Brock.
The Raider boys honored the Wounded Warrior Project by defeating their rival Pride 59-51, after the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Pride, 65-41.
Lady Raiders Cruise in Conference 21
Loudoun County senior center Elisabeth Gianelos dominated the court in the first game of the Battle of the Burg between the Lady Raiders and the Heritage Lady Pride leading her team to a 65-41 victory.
“She’s a terrific all-around player, sang the national anthem and then played a great game,” Loudoun County head coach Derek Fisher said. “We use her in many different ways, her teammates understand how to get her the ball in the right spots. She gets us a lot of extra possessions because of her defense and rebounding and when she’s finishing off the plays under the basket she’s able to put up big numbers. She’s a high energy type of player that makes multiple efforts each play.”
Gianelos scored 15 points, controlled 5 rebounds and managed 6 steals on the game.
“I do it for the team,” Gianelos said. “I don’t really think about me as a player more as us as a whole. It’s more about trying to get ourselves as a team ahead than me and my statistics that’s not what really matters.”
Only a six-point difference at halftime, the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Pride 15-0 in the third quarter giving themselves plenty of cushion for the fourth.
“Our defense was pretty good most of the game. Offensively we struggled a little bit on what I thought were some open shots in the first half,” Fisher said. “We picked it up a little offensively in the second half but mostly we were able to play the tempo of the game the way we wanted to and in the long haul that made the difference.”
Raiders’ Walker stays hot from downtown
Loudoun County senior forwards Ethan Walker and Quad Borup recorded the bulk of the scoring for the Raiders while senior Tae Crews-Naylor controlled the flow of the court as the Raiders outscored their rival Pride 59-51.
“Ethan was hot in the first half and Quad took over in the second half. I always need them to bear the brunt of my scoring,” Loudoun County head coach Mark Alexander said. “Ethan hit some threes which were big for us in the second quarter. We scored 25 points in the second quarter; I think that gave us a cushion, but then we got complacent and luckily Quad was able to hit some free throws down the stretch, and I think that kept them at a distance.”
Walker gave his team a huge lead in the first half as he registered 12 of his 14 points before halftime. Borup picked up in the second half where Walker left off in the first scoring 17 points on the day as well as reeling in 5 rebounds.
“We were hitting shots early in the first half. We made eight threes in the first half,” Borup said. “We had a bad offensive second half, but our first half kept us alive.”
Borup and Walker were not the only story of the game as the Raider bench came up big.
Loudoun County senior forward Chad Cummings and junior guards Darius Taylor and Kyle Stock accounted for 23 of the Raiders points boosting them to their eight-point win.
“We’ve worked hard on getting guys coming off the bench so we would not just be a Quad and Ethan show, and they came in and they were ready to play,” Alexander said. “I think everyone has a great attitude on how we are doing our substitutions, and it’s helping us keep our legs fresh and that might help down the stretch.”
Only registering two free throws on the day, Crews-Naylor ran the floor distributing 5 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds for his team.
“That’s all I ask him to do. He rebounds like crazy,” Alexander said. “He’s the calming influence and he plays incredible defense. I ask him to guard the toughest guy every night and he had Morris today who’s a great player. Tae is my guy; he’s my leader.”
Kyle Gotimer is a sophomore at Heritage High School in Leesburg. Follow LoCoSports on Twitter (@LoCoSports) for up-to-date news and scores from around Loudoun County.
Loudoun County Lady Raiders Stats
Elisabeth Gianelos 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 blocked shots, 1 assist, 3-for-8 free throws
Tayler Tibbits 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 5-for-7 free throws
Natalie Villaflor 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals, 2 assists, 2-for-7 free throws
Madison Szoka 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2-for-3 free throws
Chloe Knox 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 assists
Alyssa Paige 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1-for-4 free throws
Hannah Brenneman 3 points, 1 rebound
Katie Van Nuys 3 points, 1 rebound
Emily Miller 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 blocked shots
Michaela Nameth 2 points, 1 rebound, 0-for-2 free throws
Gabby Gillis 1 point, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1-for-2 free throws
Taylor Green 1 rebound
LCHS Totals
65 points, 24 rebounds, 11 turnovers, 19 steals, 7 blocked shots, 7 assists, 14-for-33 free throws
Heritage Lady Pride Stats
Julia Ng 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3-for-6 free throws
Ashley Silvernale 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot
Jonique Mitchell 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 assists, 2-for-3 free throws
Samantha Sills 4 points, 4 rebounds
Sydney Moore 3 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, 1 assist, 3-for-6 free throws
Morgan Gray 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 blocked shot
Melissa Meyers 3 points
Jayla Rivers 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocked shots, 1 assist
Mariel Terry 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Olivia Overton 2 steals
HHS Totals
41 points, 34 rebounds, 16 turnovers, 6 steals, 10 blocked shots, 4 assists, 7-for-15 free throws
Loudoun County Raiders Stats
Quad Borup 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 7-for-8 free throws
Ethan Walker 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 3 assists, 2-for-2 free throws
Chad Cummings 10 points, 1 rebound
Darius Taylor 8 points, 2 assists, 2-for-3 free throws
Kyle Stock 5 points, 3 assists, 1-for-2 free throws
Tae Crews-Taylor 2 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 assists, 2-for-4 free throws
Joe Mozeyko 2 points, 2 rebounds
Jordan Harris 1 point, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1-for-5 free throws
LCHS Totals
59 points, 20 rebounds, 7 turnovers, 5 steals, 13 assists, 15-for-24 free throws
Heritage Pride Stats
Anthony Cox 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot
Morris Robinson 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot, 4 assists, 2-for-5 free throws
Zach Garrett 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot, 1-for-1 free throws
Chris Chapman 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 assists, 4-for-5 free throws
Zach Nylund 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Justin Smith 2 points, 1 rebound
Alec Simmons 2 points
AJ Gray 2 rebounds
Nick Winslow 1 assist
HHS Totals
51 points, 21 rebounds, 12 turnovers, 7 steals, 7 assists, 7-for-11 free throws
