Leesburg, Va. — Despite their roster including only one senior and two juniors, the Loudoun County High School girls basketball team is making big waves early in the season, boasting an impressive 7-1 record. The young team added to their success on January 6 when they faced Freedom High School in a non-league game at home. The Captains held the Eagles scoreless through the first six minutes to take a commanding double-digit lead that they rode to the end for a 49-23 victory in Leesburg.
“We have so much youth that we’re all learning together. With the youth also comes a desire to grow, and I love how open they are,” Loudoun County head coach Raven Short said. “It’s only my second year here, so we’re getting to learn with each other as we’re growing. It’s a cool experience. It’s just a different vibe because we’re growing as a unit and continuing to improve each and every day, and going with our motto that the standard is the standard. So we’re figuring out what our culture is, what our emphasis is, and then every day chipping away at that and growing that.”
The Captains’ success was due in large part to their defense. Right from the start they put the pressure on, forcing early turnovers that led to points. In the first quarter, sophomore guard Claire Engelberger (7 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists, 1 block) and senior forward Zoe Ward (7 points, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists) each had three steals that the Captains converted on, as Loudoun County built a comfortable cushion thanks to the Freedom miscues.
“We knew that we could beat them on the transition game, and that’s all we were about. Once we got the first turnover, we had to keep going to get points up,” Loudoun County sophomore guard Elena Ward said. “On defense, we were talking and making sure we were communicating and switching because we knew that their ball handling wasn’t great, so we had to keep pressuring them.”
Both Elena Ward (12 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist) and Loudoun County sophomore forward Sami White (23 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 assists, 5 blocks) hit triples to put the Captains up 13-0 before White knocked down a few free throws to widen the gap to 16-0.
“For us in this new year, we’ve really been trying to stress ball pressure, the correct defensive positioning, and—having so much youth—re-emphasizing some of those IQ things,” Short said. “We’re really trying to hit on some key principles in the half-court to give us everything we want to do to flow into that transition.”
After coming up empty for the first six minutes, Freedom freshman forward Olivia Dozier (14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 assist, 1 block) got the Eagles on the board with their only bucket of the first quarter to bring the score to 16-2 heading into the second.
At 5’10”, Freedom freshman forward Gia Comey (7 rebounds, 1 assist) worked to control the glass and posted three rebounds in each of the first two quarters. Despite the height disparity, the Captains also held their own when it came to rebounding. Elena Ward—who posted the game’s only double-double—recorded seven of her game-high eleven rebounds in the first half, and the Captains benefitted from some second-chance opportunities to extend their lead.
“They were definitely a bigger team than us, so our coach really wanted us to make sure that we won the boards because if we won the boards, then we would win the game,” Elena Ward said. “She made a great point to make sure when we’re boxing out to get lower because they’re obviously bigger than us. So we had to make sure that we were boxing them all the way out.”
Freedom was without senior forward Alexa Troiano (3 rebounds, 1 block) for the entire second quarter after she got into foul trouble early. Junior guard Christina Lisack (4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal) and Dozier each made baskets, and junior guard Reese Jackson (3 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist) contributed a free throw, but the Eagles went to the locker room trailing 25-9 after another defensive display from the Captains.
“We don’t have a ton of size, so it’s just about getting the tempo up as fast as we can,” Short said. “We have a lot of athletes, a lot of multi-sport kids. So it’s just about increasing the tempo: can we go, transition, steals, open layups, breakaways, things like that to get us some early action that doesn’t put the pressure on our lack of size.”
Out of the half, it seemed as though Loudoun County was going to continue to cruise, as White blocked a shot and then made a layup, and Zoe Ward hit back-to-back buckets after Engelberger forced a couple Freedom turnovers.
But Dozier had other plans, as she took matters into her own hands, recording back-to-back steals that she converted as layups. After getting fouled following a couple offensive rebounds, Dozier also knocked down a pair of free throws and then followed that up with another steal and put-away. Lisack closed out the third quarter with a basket as the Eagles cut the deficit to 34-17 heading into the final frame.
“I think after the rocky third quarter, we realized that we needed to get back to what we were used to,” Elena Ward said. “Our coach said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to be able to get these turnovers and make these layups’.”
The Captains got back on track early in the fourth, and the team worked more cohesively to get the ball to the open player. Elena Ward, Engelbarger, and White all scored on assisted shots, and Loudoun County increased the lead to 43-19.
“We’ve definitely learned that being close as a team is super, super important. When you have team chemistry, you’re able to make passes to people and know that they’re going to be reliable and get there,” Elena Ward said. “During practices, the older girls taught us how to keep positive and not get down when we mess things up, and it’s during games too. My sister will come over if I’m not making my shot, and she’ll say, ‘Hey, you just gotta keep focusing. We need you in this game,’ and vice versa. I’ve played with these girls for so long that the team chemistry’s there, and it’s a dream to play with my sister.”
Although Jackson and Dozier each hit shots through the middle stretch, White continued to apply pressure: blocking shots, snagging rebounds, drawing fouls, and eventually capitalizing on opportunities. White scored the Captains’ final eight points despite the extra focus placed on her by the defense.
“Sami is amazing. I think her biggest asset is her ability to see how people are guarding her. Last year when she came in as a freshman, opponents adjusted to where she was. But now they’re building their scout around her. So as a player, she’s learning each and every day, ‘Okay, they’re guarding me this way today. Tomorrow it might not be the same; they might be guarding me like this’,” Short said. “Her versatility is key, and her IQ is so high. Everyday I remind her to see how they’re guarding her, and then we come up with a plan for that. And she attacks it: she can shoot, she can drive, and we’re working on her mid-range and free throws. She’s such a special player, and she has keyed in and is becoming a leader for us too, which is awesome.”
The Eagles converted on a couple free throws late, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit, as Loudoun County secured the 49-23 victory.
“To continue having success we need to keep winning the transition game, holding each other accountable for mistakes and moving on to the next play, and obviously getting stronger with our defense, since our defense is one of our weaker areas,” Elena Ward said. “Our coach is doing a great job giving us drills to improve our defense and our talking since communication is one of the most important things. And I think staying positive and making sure that we can keep each other uplifted—that’s what we need to do.”
Freedom (2-2, 3-5) will return to action when they host John Champe on January 8 and Broad Run on January 9. Loudoun County (0-0, 7-1) will travel to Riverside on January 9 ahead of region action the following week.
“The competition is there: from Heritage to Valley to Woodgrove, the depth is there in our region. And I think with so much youth, we’re trying to gain some confidence to believe that we belong, we can hang, and just trying to show the girls what it looks like to be in that mix,” Short said. “And I think for them this year, we’re focusing in on things that we have to do, but also knowing that we can play with some of these teams and showing them through early success what that can look like.”
Kiko Dudley captured 150+ photos at the game!
Loudoun County Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Sami White | 23 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5-for-10 |
| Elena Ward | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Claire Engelberger | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1-for-1 |
| Zoe Ward | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Khloe Clayton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Lila Collins | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Emily Oates | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 49 | 29 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 6-for-11 |
Freedom Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Olivia Dozier | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2-for-2 |
| Christina Lisack | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Reese Jackson | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Daniela Cardona | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Brittney Tang | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Gia Comey | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Alexa Troiano | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Natasha Mistry | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Olivia Fraser | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 23 | 27 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 5-for-8 |