Ashburn, Va. — In a game that could potentially be repeated as a postseason matchup between the Broad Run and Heritage High School girls basketball teams, both teams fought throughout the night for the upper hand. While the Spartans led up until the end of the third quarter, the Pride used a big second half to erase the deficit to come out on top, 44-37, on January 24 in Ashburn.
“When we got in the locker room [at halftime], we got ourselves together, took deep breaths, and said ‘let’s go back, new game,’” Heritage head coach Otto Jett said.
Early on, the Pride struggled to find the basket on open layups and turned the ball over several times. Broad Run took advantage of the Heritage miscues and capitalized on their opportunities, creating an early cushion. Broad Run senior guard Alex Gonzalez and junior forward Claire Erny contributed 4 points apiece in the first quarter to give the Spartans a 13-10 lead going into the second quarter.
“We knew we weren’t getting a lot of calls in the first half, and we were missing a lot of easy layups,” Jett said.
The Spartans extended their lead into the second quarter thanks to contributions from sophomore guard Sienna Bhide (9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal) and senior guard Ella Hussein, who scored all of her points in the second quarter. The Pride didn’t seem to have an answer, as they fell behind 25-16 going into halftime.
Defense was the focus for Heritage in the second half, as they switched up their strategy and started to play a more physical game.
“We changed the defense around a little bit because we were playing man-to-man for most of the first half,” Jett said. “We went to a match-up zone, and the girls started getting into it and got in a flow, and we started attacking.”
The extra pressure from the Pride forced 16 Broad Run turnovers in the second half. During the stretch, Heritage recorded 11 steals, 6 from sophomore guard Riley Makitka and 3 from junior forward Kaitlyn Puzenski.
The Pride also outrebounded the Spartans 20-13 in the second half, thanks to contributions from sophomore forward Alyssa Stanford, Makitka, and Puzenski, who finished the night with 14, 9, and 7 rebounds, respectively.
“Broad Run doesn’t have a lot of height,” Jett said. “We have good, decent height and very athletic post players, so we figured we could get on the boards and not give them second-chance shots because they can knock it down. We know if we can get in there and get the rebound, we can probably put it back up and give ourselves second chances, so we concentrated on getting on the boards.”
The shift in focus proved beneficial as Heritage gradually chipped away at the Broad Run lead as a result of rebounds that became scoring opportunities. The Pride held the Spartans to just 4 points in the third quarter while Stanford started to get hot, contributing 12 of her game-high 16 points in the second half.
“Alyssa is a special player,” Jett said. “She comes off the bench so she can see the game first, and then she goes in and attacks.”
Heritage finished the third quarter with a basket from Puzenski to even the score at 29-29 and all the momentum going into the final frame.
“We came out strong in the second half, attacking instead of fading away from the basket,” Stanford said. “We played tougher defense, and we made sure to box out. We knew long shots were going to go long, so we tried not to stay under the basket.”
The Pride took their first lead of the night after Stanford made a couple of free throws to open the fourth quarter. But Bhide had an answer to immediately tie it back up. Stanford responded with a basket and another free throw to give Heritage the lead that they would keep until the end.
“Alyssa was getting frustrated because she couldn’t make layups at first,” Jett said. “But once she gets in the flow, you can’t stop that girl.”
Broad Run still battled, as Erny and Bhide each hit a couple 2-pointers to keep the Spartans within reach. However, baskets by Puzenski and solid free throw shooting by the Pride down the stretch brought the game to a close, as Heritage picked up the win, 44-37.
“The few practices that we have left, we’re going to have to lock in and focus on the little things we need to change because details really matter down the stretch,” Stanford said. “We’re going to look at film and see what we can improve so we don’t come out on such a slow start: defensive adjustments and making sure we break down on the threes and get out in their faces.”
The Pride (3-0, 8-6) will look to continue their winning streak when they host Dominion on
January 26 and then travel to Loudoun Valley on January 29 and Tuscarora on February 1. The Spartans (3-1, 11-5) will look to bounce back when they travel to Tuscarora on January 26 and Park View on January 29 before hosting Loudoun County on February 1.
“We’ve got a tough district, so we know every game is going to be a battle in our district,” Jett said. “We’re going to have to battle against Valley and Tusky to stay at the top of the district. We already got past Valley once, but we still got two with Tusky and we’ve got one more with Valley, and we’re not taking Dominion for granted either.”
Derrick Jerry captured 200+ photos at the game!
Heritage Stats
| Heritage | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Alyssa Stanford | 16 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6-for-8 |
| Kaitlyn Puzenski | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Julia Ehrmantraut | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Myah Gross | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4-for-4 |
| Riley Makitka | 4 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2-for-4 |
| Addy Padgett | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-4 |
| Rachel Stewart | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Keira Stanford | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 44 | 42 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 14-for-20 |
Broad Run Stats
| Broad Run | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Alex Gonzalez | 9 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Sienna Bhide | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Claire Erny | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-2 |
| Ella Hussein | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Morgan Adams | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Aliya Wilson | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Brooke Bolle | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Claire Pollock | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Brianna Cook | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Mallory Sultan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 37 | 31 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 5-for-7 |