Ashburn, Va. — When the Briar Woods High School girls basketball team traveled to Riverside High School for their first Potomac District meeting on December 19, the Falcons dominated the Rams, 34-22.
After jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead in their second meeting, it looked as though Briar Woods would easily repeat the same success. But after eight lead changes and three ties, the game went back-and-forth and was decided in the final minutes. Ultimately, the Falcons secured the 46-45 victory, but the Rams gave them a run for their money in the first of two games in a girls/boys double-header on January 20 in Ashburn.
“You play them the second time, and they adjust,” Briar Woods head coach Mike Gallagher said. “You saw it tonight; we had a 12-point win the first time, and now it came down to the wire, a 1-point win.”
Briar Woods senior forward Brianna Zaher (11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block) opened the game with a reverse layup and a three-pointer from the corner. After Riverside senior guard Olivia Carlone (6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) connected for two, Zaher hit another triple to give the Falcons the lead and the early momentum.
“We’ve talked about having strong starts from the beginning of the season. We’ve struggled with that the past couple games,” Zaher said. “So I think having that energy in the first quarter forced everyone to match that energy and helped us be motivated to continue the rest of the game with that same energy and passion to win.”
“It’s a huge confidence build because we struggled in our prior games scoring, so that gave us a lot of momentum and confidence,” Gallagher said. “And when Bri has it going, it helps everyone because then the defense adjusts and now everyone else can be open. So it really helped us to start.”
Riverside senior guard Lyla Hobiena (6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) found senior guard Maia Brown (17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) for three to cut the lead in half, but then both teams came up empty the next couple trips up and down the court.
Riverside was strong on the boards as Hobiena snagged 3 of her team-high 7 rebounds and the Rams out-rebounded the Falcons 9 to 5 in the first quarter. A couple minutes passed before Carlone connected with freshman forward Janiyah Jackson (8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block) inside to get the scoring rolling again.
Back-to-back Riverside baskets by Brown and Hobiena gave the Rams their first lead at 12-8. After a 10-0 Riverside run, Briar Woods senior guard Tanvi Kancharla (9 points, 2 assists, 7 steals) ended the drought by getting to the hoop in traffic. Despite missing the and-one, Kancharla’s teammate junior forward Sadie Auch (10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block) grabbed the rebound and was fouled while going up for the putback. Auch made both free throws to even the score at 12-12.
“I always tell myself, ‘just shoot the ball,’ because when I think too much about it, that’s when I miss. I take a deep breath and take the shot,” Auch said. “The biggest thing is just knowing in the back of my head that free throws are important and that this is what’s going to pull my team ahead.”
The teams traded baskets to start the second quarter, and Auch was successful again from the charity stripe. Multiple consecutive rebounds from Briar Woods sophomore guard Rianna D’Souza (6 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) provided three-point looks for sophomore guard Tanisha Srinivas (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) and Zaher, allowing the Falcons to build a 5-point cushion.
“Rianna has been a key piece for us because we’ve had injuries, and she has stepped into the role and has been critical. She brings such energy, she attacks the basket, she goes in for rebounds,” Gallagher said. “Oftentimes, she’s the smallest player on the court, and she’s in there just plugging away and always comes up with loose balls. Invaluable what she was to us today. We love seeing it from a sophomore who can—in big moments with pressure, in front of a big crowd—make those plays. She has a really bright future here.”
But Riverside was not shaken as freshman forward Sienna Taylor (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block) scored all of her points during a 12-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to give the Rams their largest lead of the night at 30-23.
With their work cut out for them, Briar Woods slowly chipped away at the lead, as steals from Auch and Kancharla converted to offensive opportunities for the Falcons.
“We had a really strong first quarter, and coach always says, ‘Strong beginnings are a good start.’ But I also think the start out of half is what pulls us ahead,” Auch said. “Steals are an important piece of that because they get our energy up, they get us really going, and it gives us an opportunity to take advantage and push on offense. Getting steals gives us more energy and it keeps our heads up as well.”
D’Souza converted on an and-one, and Auch continued to be perfect on free throws as the Falcons grabbed the momentum and brought it within one at 31-30 heading into the final frame.
“We had to adjust to how they run their offense. Last time we didn’t really know how to guard it and what to do exactly, and our overall energy as a team was just down,” Zaher said. “What changed this game was: we scouted, we knew what they were planning, and we knew how to guard the defenses that were unknown in the first game. It helped us get that energy going.”
Auch opened the fourth quarter by making her seventh and eighth free throws to give the Falcons their first lead since midway through the second quarter.
“Sadie has been so consistent and so dependable. She was Briar Woods’ athlete of the month in December, and she has been really good because she can score outside and in. We encourage her to be aggressive and she was. She saw openings, got downhill, attacked the rim, and got to the line,” Gallagher said. “Sometimes if you’re not getting into the flow outside, if you attack the basket, that will get you opportunities, and she made the most of them. And every foul shot was crucial. It was during the comeback period; they got us the lead when we were down. Then all of a sudden, it was like chipping away, chipping away, and part of it was Sadie being aggressive and getting to the line.”
Immediately after Auch’s free throws, D’Souza and Srinivas both made it to the basket following a couple Riverside turnovers. Jackson countered with two, but Kancharla also drove inside and converted. Taylor then found Brown for three as the Rams kept it close at 38-36.
The Falcons failed to convert on all their three-point attempts in the third quarter, so they focused more on getting to the basket in the fourth. After a couple successful drives, the defense adjusted, which opened up an opportunity for Kancharla from outside the arc.
“When you’re not shooting well, you go to the rim, not only to score, but you may get to the foul line and help your shot. What it did for us was open up three pointers that were better quality shots,” Gallagher said. “We were rushing before, but now it allows for a kick-out, feet set. Tanvi made the one from the corner, and that was a huge moment that swung the game at that point.”
After another D’Souza rebound, Auch finished with a bucket to give Briar Woods its largest lead of the night at 43-36. But it was short-lived as both Hobiena and Brown knocked down three-pointers to bring it back to a one-point game.
Late free throws from Srinivas and D’Souza gave the Falcons a two-possession cushion with just seconds remaining on the clock. Although Brown hit another triple as time expired, the Rams ran out of time to come back as Briar Woods held on for the 46-45 victory.
“We need to keep working together as a team. That’s something we do well. Our chemistry is really, really good, and we’re all really tight,” Auch said. “Whether it’s on defense or on offense, we should keep working together as a team like we are.”
Although the loss keeps Riverside (1-6, 6-8) at sixth place in the Potomac District, the Rams will look to move up as they continue with the back half of their district schedule. They will return home against Stone Bridge on January 22 and will face off against Brentsville in a non-district game on January 23. Briar Woods (6-1, 15-3) remains tied for first in the district, but a rematch against Potomac Falls on January 23 will give one team an edge in the standings.
“We have such high regard for our district because we think every team can win. We do a lot of preparation, and our team consists of very high IQ, smart girls, and they’re very able to implement, execute, and make great decisions by themselves on the court,” Gallagher said. “We have great leadership, four captains this year—Bri, Sadie, Tanvi, and Nina (who’s hurt). They are all very encouraging and very intelligent on the court. So we’re gonna need that because every team’s gonna adapt, and we have to prepare because every team is good. Every night, it’s gonna be a challenge.”
Aimee Vincent captured 250+ photos at the game!
Briar Woods Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Brianna Zaher | 11 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Sadie Auch | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8-for-8 |
| Tanisha Srinivas | 10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2-for-2 |
| Tanvi Kancharla | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Rianna D’Souza | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Rishithasree Poshala | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 46 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 12-for-14 |
Riverside Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Maia Brown | 17 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Janiyah Jackson | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2-for-3 |
| Lyla Hobiena | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sienna Taylor | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2-for-2 |
| Olivia Carlone | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Kadence Loucks | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Maddie Brown | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 45 | 25 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 5-for-7 |