Purcellville, Va. — Led by a pair of double-doubles from junior guard Jordan Campbell and senior forward Megan Stevenson, the Loudoun Valley High School girls basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in the Vikings’, 70-56, win over rival Woodgrove on January 17 in Purcellville.
“It’s that crosstown rivalry, so they always circle this game,” first-year Loudoun Valley head coach Bill Reynolds said. “They’re a really good team. We haven’t played a team like that all year, besides when we played them before. To get a win against a really good team, that’s awesome.”
For Loudoun Valley, it all starts on the defensive end. The Vikings showed the Wolverines full-court pressure for most of the game, forcing 21 turnovers and scoring in transition.
“We have about four or five defenses that we can switch up and run, and the girls bought into the idea that defense is going to win games for us,” Reynolds said. “It doesn’t hurt that we’re scoring 71 points a game but, defensively, that’s where we know it’s going to win.”
On top of their scoring and rebounding efforts, Stevenson and Campbell turned in 7 and 5 steals, respectively. Stevenson’s length in the middle of their zone press is unforgiving, and Campbell’s effort is relentless in pursuing the basketball.
Although Stevenson, Campbell, and the rest of the Loudoun Valley defense was solid through the first half, the Wolverines held tough. Woodgrove sophomore guard Tara Mullen hit three first-half three-pointers as the Wolverines trailed by just 6 heading into the half.
Everybody wants to knock us off the throne, and when we go into practice every day, we’re practicing defense first, and we’re letting scoring take care of itself.
—Loudoun Valley head coach Bill Reynolds
The Vikings, however, turned in a tremendous third quarter to open up their lead to 54-38 heading into the fourth quarter. Campbell – who collected a school-record 23 rebounds on January 16 against Heritage – added 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals in the third quarter alone against the Wolverines.
“Jordan’s that X-factor. She’s all heart. She goes 100 miles an hour, the whole time,” Reynolds said. “She’s an amazing athlete, amazing girl, and just will not be outworked.”
Not to be outdone, Stevenson added 6 of her game-high 28 points in the third quarter as the Vikings took a 16-point lead into the fourth.
“She’s just an amazing athlete. She is incredible. She stepped it up tonight. Every game she has stepped it up,” Reynolds said. “Scoring is always going to be there. I don’t know that there are too many people that can stop her from scoring.”
Despite a 9-0 run midway through the fourth and four players in double-digit scoring, the Wolverines’ effort fell short.
While Loudoun Valley came out on top, both teams won the night as they came together for the One Community, One Cause Pink Out to raise funds to support the Our Perfect Warrior Foundation, started by Woodgrove junior forward Riley Castellano and junior classmate Anna Lockhart.
Woodgrove (4-0, 8-4) will look to bounce back when the Wolverines travel to Riverside on January 21. No. 1 Loudoun Valley (4-0, 9-0) looks to keep their unblemished record intact when they travel to No. 2 Tuscarora on January 21 in Leesburg.
“Everybody wants to knock us off the throne, and when we go into practice every day, we’re practicing defense first, and we’re letting scoring take care of itself,” Reynolds said. “We know that if we can stop you from scoring, we got a really good chance of winning. So that’s all we do. We’re just going to play our game.”
Mike Ferrara captured 80+ photos at the game…
Loudoun Valley Stats
| Loudoun Valley | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Free Throws |
| Megan Stevenson | 28 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6-for-6 |
| Jordan Campbell | 20 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Alyssa Hassan | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Louis Volker | 7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5-for-5 |
| Kate Brennan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jane Bodamer | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2-for-4 |
| Sarah Thompson | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Vikings Totals | 70 | 44 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 15-for-17 |
Woodgrove Stats
| Woodgrove | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Free Throws |
| Colette Baine | 14 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4-for-8 |
| Tara Mullen | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Sophia Coates | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2-for-4 |
| Ashley Steadman | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3-for-3 |
| Jenna Steadman | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Jaidyn Turner | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Katie Fortin | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Ashley Moriarty | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-2 |
| Wolverines Totals | 56 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 10-for-20 |
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