Ashburn, Va. — It took less than two minutes for the Briar Woods High School girls basketball team to jump out to an 8-0 lead against rival Broad Run High School in their Potomac District opener on December 7. Even more impressive for the Falcons was that all eight of those points came from the hand of sophomore forward Grace Nathan.
“It was a great start for Grace,” Briar Woods head coach Raven Short said. “We’ve been trying to find different looks for her on offense. Seeing a couple baskets go in was good for our team and good for her confidence.”
As the game continued, Briar Woods spread the ball around to nine different scorers, as the Falcons never came close to surrendering the lead in their, 64-41, win over the Spartans.
“We’ve got a big stretch of district games next week, so this win means a lot for our girls to help bring them together working towards a common goal,” Short said. “They work extremely hard, so I couldn’t be more proud of their effort.”
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While Nathan – who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds – got Briar Woods off on the right foot, it was senior guard Sara Duffie who paced the Falcons with a game-high 15 points and a team-high 11 boards.
Briar Woods junior guard Marissa Almonte rounded out the trio of Falcons’ double-digit scorers, adding 14 points thanks to a hot hand in the fourth quarter.
“I probably have to yell at them to shoot more, because they’re so unselfish. They pass it because they know they’re going to get it back in return. They’re always looking for each other and hyping each other up,” Short said. “As a coach, I don’t have to coach unselfishness because by nature, that’s who they are and that’s how they play. It makes my job a lot easier.”
Girls Basketball: Briar Woods guard Sara Duffie turns in a double-double with 15 points, 11 boards. Forward Grace Nathan adds 12 and 8. @BWHSGirlsBball 64, @brhsbball 41 FINAL #LoCoHoops @LoCoSports
— Owen Gotimer (@BigO_Gotimer) December 8, 2018
Defensively, the Falcons’ length in their full-court press wore down the Spartans, especially down the stretch as Briar Woods forced ten second-half turnovers.
Despite the 23-point loss, Broad Run got productive minutes from freshman guard Yvonne Lee – who led the Spartans with 14 points – and sophomore forward Kayla Jenkins– who scored 8 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and collected 6 steals.
Briar Woods (1-0, 3-1) has a big Potomac District test ahead of them as they host 2018 VHSL Region 5C champion Freedom (1-0, 4-0) on December 11 in Ashburn. Broad Run (0-1, 0-4) hosts out-of-district Woodgrove (0-0, 0-5) on December 10.
“We have to continue to play as a unit, we have to keep our focus and we have to maintain our discipline,” Short said. “We just want to make sure we keep our heads straight and stay focused on our goals.”
Mike Ferrara captured more than 60 photos at the game…
Briar Woods Stats
| Briar Woods | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Free Throws |
| Sara Duffie | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3-for-3 |
| Marissa Almonte | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Grace Nathan | 12 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2-for-2 |
| Abigayle Larson | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Camryn Adkins | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ashton Keilholtz | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Hannah Crawford | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Emma Nathan | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Casey O’Connor | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Camille Ocasio | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Drew Hoehner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Alayna Hitteman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Falcons Totals | 64 | 44 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 7-for-7 |
Broad Run Stats
| Broad Run | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Free Throws |
| Yvonne Lee | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sara Kelly | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5-for-8 |
| Kayla Jenkins | 8 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0-for-3 |
| Abigail Neff | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Karleigh Pollock | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-3 |
| Micaela Elhafdi | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Maya Grimm | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Hodan Mohamed | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Spartan Totals | 41 | 40 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 9-for-18 |