Purcellville, Va. — In an emotional night highlighted by a ceremony for former Woodgrove player, Colette Baine, the Briar Woods Falcons (2-0, 13-1) were able to weather a third quarter comeback from the Wolverines to secure their eighth win in a row, 60-49, over the Wolverines (1-1, 9-2) on January 17 in Purcellville.
“Woodgrove is a great team, and we have come up short against them two years in a row,” Briar Woods junior forward Hope Drake said. “Our team rallied together, practiced hard, scouted, and I’m really proud of our team tonight.”
Led by Drake—who finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds—Briar Woods was able to get off to a great start on both ends, making more than half of their shots in the first quarter while forcing Woodgrove to turn the ball over.
“I thought [Hope] was very versatile. She did a great job finding the extra pass,” Briar Woods head coach Raven Short said. “Our girls really bought into our game plan.”
[adrotate banner=”54″]The Falcons’ success continued throughout the rest of the first half giving Briar Woods a 38-22 lead at halftime.
Nevertheless, Woodgrove would not go away without a fight. The Wolverines came out of halftime playing more high pressure defense than they did in the first half, leading to multiple turnovers and limited shot opportunities for the Falcons.
Furthermore, Woodgrove was able to get easy transition baskets off these turnovers which led to a tied game at 43-43 heading into the fourth quarter. This comeback was led by junior forward Angelina Nice—who finished the game with 14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Additionally, senior guards Anni Rohs and Jenna Steadman finished with 12 points apiece.
It looked like deja vu for the Falcons after falling to Woodgrove in a similar situation in a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal last season, however, the Falcons defense came alive in the fourth quarter only allowing six total points from the Wolverines, before five clutch free throws from junior guard Giuliana Bohmer secured Briar Woods the double-digit win to improve to 2-0 in district play.
Along with Bohmer and Drake, Briar Woods junior point guard Tia Chen put up another impressive performance with 14 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals in the win.
“She really came up big for us today as a point guard, as a veteran, and as a captain,” Short said.
Most importantly, pregame, Colette Baine’s mother received a framed jersey of Colette in honor of her.
“A lot of these girls and myself knew Colette,” Short said. “It was such an emotional game for us. We tried to be competitive but have that emotional piece.”
Briar Woods ends their head-to-head losing streak against Woodgrove with the win and will look to continue their 8-game winning streak on January 20 against Independence; Woodgrove will look to bounce back when they travel to Potomac Falls on the same night.
Briar Woods and Woodgrove play again on January 31 in Ashburn in what will be a highly anticipated rematch.
“Our conference is tough and every night you can get beaten,” Short said, “It’s just making sure that every game we come in knowing it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Briar Woods Stats
| Briar Woods | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Hope Drake | 18 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3-for-6 |
| Tia Chen | 14 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Noelle Cabiness | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1-for-2 |
| Sienna Casillas | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Krista Tehan | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4-for-4 |
| Giuliana Bohmer | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5-for-6 |
| Avery Maltese | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Caprice Bohmer | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jadyn Shin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Totals | 60 | 40 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 13-for-19 |
Woodgrove Stats
| Woodgrove | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Angelina Nice | 14 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0-for-1 |
| Jenna Steadman | 12 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Annika Rohs | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Maddie Pabon | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Valerie Blankenship | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Hope Thurman | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Addie McCullers | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Maddie Shea | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Lyla Brown | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Madison Thurman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Teagan Lowery | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Carly Franzen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 49 | 31 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 2-for-4 |