Loudoun County, Va. — As high school basketball gets underway in Loudoun County, a few local teams have already started to stand out among the crowd. In a two-district county, we wanted a way to put things into perspective. Enter: the LoCo Top 5.
Of course, if you’re into hard numbers the full Potomac District and Dulles District standings are available here.
[adrotate banner=”16″]1. Freedom (9-1, 15-3)
Double-digit wins over LoCoTop 5 teams Tuscarora and Loudoun Valley in the last week lift Freedom to the much-deserved No. 1 spot in our rankings. The Lady Eagles are long and athletic, can score from anywhere on the floor and pressure the ball better than any team in Loudoun. In a January 22 win over Loudoun Valley, Freedom forced 26 turnovers and got double-doubles from two girls not named Jaelyn Batts. There is certainly a target on the Lady Eagles’ backs after they knocked off previous No. 1 Tuscarora on January 19.
2. Tuscarora (9-1, 17-1)
Sliding down to No. 2 on the list isn’t a dramatic change for Tuscarora, who will more than likely see Freedom in a rematch in the Potomac District championship in February. However, the Lady Huskies’ 18-point loss to Freedom on January 19 was no fluke. Senior forward Kennedy Middleton and sophomore forward Isabellah Middleton are a handful for defenses, but Tuscarora struggles to rebound the basketball. They’ll need to stay physical boxing out down the stretch if they want to make a run.
3. Loudoun Valley (8-0, 13-2)
The Lady Vikings don’t do anything special – they play fundamental basketball, they get up and down the floor and they make the extra pass. With the depth they have, making that extra pass is a no brainer. Loudoun Valley head coach Kenyamo McFarlane can mix and match nine or ten girls without losing a step. The Lady Vikings are also the first team since Oakton in 2013-2014 to complete a regular season sweep of perennial contender Loudoun County.
4. Loudoun County (7-2, 15-3)
Loudoun County has enough talent to compete with the best of the best – when all their pieces are working together. However, after barely evading Riverside on January 15, the Lady Raiders blew a 7-point halftime lead to lose by 14 to No. 3 Loudoun Valley. If the rest of the regular season goes according to play, Loudoun County will finish No. 2 in the Dulles District and will look to exact revenge on the Lady Vikings in the district playoffs.
5. Stone Bridge (6-4, 13-5)
I’m sure people are getting tired of hearing about the potential Stone Bridge has, but in their January 23 loss to Tuscarora, their potential came to fruition for 24 minutes. Stone Bridge guards Anna LeMaster and Chloe Madgwick are going to keep their team in games, but the Lady Bulldogs need to solve their turnover problem – and they need to do it quickly. If they can put together 32 minutes of limited-turnover basketball, don’t be surprised to see Stone Bridge sneaking into the Potomac District championship game.