Ashburn, Va. — Led by an explosive start in the second half, the Briar Woods Falcons (5-0, 14-1) pulled away late to secure a 61-46 Potomac District victory over the Riverside Rams (2-3, 10-7) on January 25 in Ashburn.
“For us, it’s just maintaining a balanced offense,” Briar Woods head coach Raven Short said. “We have got some size inside and we have got good guard play.”
Briar Woods senior forward Noelle Cabiness helped the Falcons break away to an early seven point lead after the first quarter. Cabiness led both teams with 7 points in the first quarter while adding 5 rebounds and an assist.
“She overall had an amazing game tonight,” teammate and fellow senior forward Hope Drake said. “She had blocks, she had threes, it was amazing. It is all about the person that can step up at the right time and the right moment.”
Unfortunately for Riverside, their first quarter did not start the way they would’ve hoped. An early injury to starting sophomore forward Olivia Carlone forced the Rams to go to their bench earlier than they would have wanted.
The second quarter was a completely different story, however, as Riverside was able to regain their footing and attack the Falcons with speed. The Rams controlled the pace of the game for most of the second quarter allowing them to cut into the Briar Woods lead.
Riverside senior guard Ella Mahaffey took control of the second quarter scoring 14 of the team’s 19 points. Led by Mahaffey, the Rams were able to storm back and even tie the game at 27. However, a late three-point basket from Cabiness gave the Falcons’ a one-point lead heading into the halftime break.
“Every team in this conference is really talented and you can never take a night off,” Short said. “I thought in the first half we were a little slow, we were a little lackadaisical.”
The Falcons’ recognized their lack of effort and came out of the second half firing on all cylinders. Early baskets from Drake and senior forward Sienna Casillas set the tone for the rest of the quarter.
“When teams are relying on you, you step up,” Short said. “And that is what they did.”
Drake finished the night with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, including 11 points in the third quarter. With momentum on their side, the Falcons were able to quickly inflate their lead to 14 heading into the fourth.
The lead grew to as many as 20 in the fourth quarter before the Rams made back-to-back baskets to end the game and fall to the Falcons 61-46.
Riverside will continue Potomac District play on January 29 when they return home to host the Independence Tigers. For the Falcons, it will be a quick turnaround as they will travel to play in the Athletes for Awareness showdown on January 27 against the Highland Springs Springers.
“We are going to be taking our team on the road to an environment where it is going to be crazy and competitive,” Short said. “For us, it’s just continuing to compete and to step outside of our Loudoun bubble and see what we can do.”