Leesburg, Va. — On February 27, 2025 the girls basketball teams from Heritage High School and Woodgrove High School squared off in the VHSL Region 4C championship, and the Pride took home the program’s first region title in a 46-38 win over the Wolverines. One year later, the teams met again to vie for another trophy. Although Heritage won again by an 8-point margin, the path to earning their second straight region championship was very different than the first.
Leading by 7 heading into the final frame, the Pride looked to be in control of the game and their fate. But after a 9-1 run gave the Wolverines their only lead of the night, the teams ultimately finished tied at 40-40 after regulation.
Free throws were the difference-maker in overtime, as both teams came up empty after several trips up and down the court. Heritage senior forward Alyssa Stanford went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in overtime, providing the grit and resilience the Pride needed to solidify the 54-46 win on February 26 in Leesburg.
“I think this win just shows our growth as a team,” Stanford said. “We started off the season a little slower than we wanted to, and ever since then, we’ve been grinding every practice, making each other better.”
Heritage got the scoring started early as Stanford found her younger sister, junior guard Keira Stanford (14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists), for a triple and then made a steal that Keira Stanford finished on.
A couple plays later, Woodgrove junior guard May Marsh (18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 3 blocks) got the Wolverines on the board by snagging an offensive rebound and making the putback. But on the ensuing drive, Alyssa Stanford (22 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block) collected her teammate’s missed shot, Keira Stanford found senior guard Riley Makitka (11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals), and Makitka drew a foul while completing her shot, capitalizing on the and-one to give the Pride the early 8-2 lead.
A successful 3-pointer by Woodgrove senior forward Rowan Newell (3 points, 3 rebounds) from senior forward Lyla Brown (6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks) cut the deficit in half, but Makitka assisted on baskets by senior guard Julia Ehrmantraut (3 points) and Alyssa Stanford to re-extend the Heritage edge.
In addition to holding the point advantage, the Pride also out-rebounded the Wolverines 8-6 in the first quarter, as Alyssa Stanford provided additional opportunities for her team by grabbing half of her game-high 10 rebounds.
“The strategy was honestly just going after every ball,” Alyssa Stanford said. “We know they’re a hard rebounding team and they like to crash the boards, so we focused on getting inside position and going after every ball.”
Both teams were playing aggressively, especially in the paint, and Keira Stanford picked up her second and third fouls midway through the first quarter, sending Marsh and senior guard Mya Bundick (17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal)—who each converted on both of their free throws—to the charity stripe.
“It was a physical game,” Heritage head coach Tayler Cook said. “I think that was the most physical of a game that we’ve been allowed to play all year, which is good and bad because you’re adjusting on the fly.”
With Keira Stanford sidelined for the second quarter, Heritage junior guard Layan Alhadi (2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal) stepped in to fill the gap. After grabbing a couple rebounds, Alhadi then made a steal and finished on a layup to bring the Pride’s lead to 22-17.
“We talk about this all the time that it could be anybody’s night at any given time, and I think Layan did a fantastic job. She came in, she brought energy, she got a steal herself,” Cook said. “We had enough manpower to still switch and do what we wanted to do defensively, but you can’t ask for more from a kid coming off the bench early like that and having to play big extended minutes.”
Marsh made it to the basket to bring the score to 22-19. Each team then had a couple opportunities to convert but came up empty, as Heritage maintained the 3-point lead heading into halftime.
Consecutive baskets by Alyssa Stanford, Woodgrove sophomore guard Ellie Jeffers (2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block), and Makitka to start the second half brought the score to 26-21 in favor of the Pride.
From that point forward with Keira Stanford back in the game, the Stanford sisters combined for the rest of Heritage’s third-quarter points, while a couple steals by Marsh opened up opportunities for her and Bundick to contribute on the Woodgrove side.
Despite the Wolverines bringing the game within 3 with a Bundick basket, both Stanfords were successful from the free throw line to give the Pride the 36-29 lead at the end of the third quarter.
“I’m always focused on the next play,” Alyssa Stanford said. “I think I’ve learned that over the years in high school. I started out not being able to keep my composure, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve matured and been able to do that. It’s just about focusing on the next play, moving on, and getting the next rebound.”
Heritage senior forward Cadence Holman (2 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) leaned into this philosophy at the start of the fourth quarter by grabbing half of her total rebounds in an effort to give her team more opportunities. But shots were not falling for the Pride, and Woodgrove took advantage as Marsh and Bundick combined for 9 points to give the Wolverines their first and only lead of the night at 38-37.
“We just missed shots. I don’t know what we shot in the fourth quarter, but it couldn’t have been good,” Cook said. “I think there’s a few that could have gone either way and we just told them that we’re taking the right shots, we just gotta be stronger and go to the rim and eventually it’ll fall. But we just missed shots, which usually happens to us one quarter of every game.”
Makitka finally sank a shot and then split a pair of free throws, but Bundick immediately responded with a basket of her own with less than a minute left on the clock. A last-ditch effort by the Pride fell short, and the teams prepared for overtime, knotted up at 40-40.
Despite some early efforts to get to the basket, the majority of shots during overtime were from the free throw line. Although both Stanford sisters missed both their shots on their first trips to the line, they both converted both attempts on their second trips to give Heritage a little bit of a cushion.
“I try to keep nothing in my mind [when shooting free throws]. It’s better if I don’t think about it, and I just do what I’ve done thousands of times in practice,” Alyssa Stanford said. “It’s just the same thing; it’s muscle memory.”
Marsh made a pair and Brown split a pair of free throws to bring the score to 46-43, but from there Alyssa Stanford took over, remained steady, and went a perfect 6-for-6 on her last few free throw attempts to put the game out of reach.
“Alyssa deserved to be named region player of the year because she can hurt you in so many different ways. Tonight, they put a guard on her, and she destroyed them in the paint. Some nights, it’s a post and she’s hitting four threes. She’s just so versatile and that is what allows her to be really, really good,” Cook said. “We’ve been preaching all year about her leadership, and I think down the stretch, it’s just grown and grown, and she’s been fantastic at keeping her head and staying composed, which keeps everybody else calm.”
A big reason for the additional Pride possessions towards the end was consecutive steals by Makitka on the Woodgrove inbounds after Alyssa Stanford’s free throws. Holman also made a steal the same way and finished with a layup to give Heritage its largest lead at 54-43.
“Those last couple steals at the end of the game were so fun to play,” Alyssa Stanford said. “It brought the momentum back to us and kept it on our side.”
A final triple from Brown may have given the Woodgrove faithful some hope, but the Wolverines ran out of time, and the Pride picked up the 54-46 win to secure back-to-back region titles.
By playing for the region championship, both Heritage and Woodgrove will advance to the VHSL Class 4 State tournament. On March 3, Woodgrove (4-0, 17-8) will travel to VHSL Region 4D champion Salem, and Heritage (8-0, 19-5) will host Region 4D runner-up Charlottesville in a VHSL Class 4 State quarterfinal.
“It’s huge to host. You get your fans, your home crowd. Our boys won, so we get the doubleheader crowd, which is perfect. It also makes our opponents have to adjust on the road. When teams are having to travel, they have to adjust, they have to figure out officials on the fly, they’re in a new gym,” Cook said. “We’re familiar with whoever we’re going to play. We’ve either got Salem or Charlottesville at this point. We played Charlottesville in this situation last year and then Salem in the state championship. So I think we’re ready. We just gotta stay ready.”
Derrick Jerry captured 100+ photos at the game!
Heritage Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Alyssa Stanford | 22 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10-for-12 |
| Keira Stanford | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5-for-8 |
| Riley Makitka | 11 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3-for-5 |
| Julia Ehrmantraut | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-3 |
| Cadence Holman | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Layan Alhadi | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Kenslee Stancato | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 54 | 31 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 19-for-28 |
Woodgrove Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| May Marsh | 18 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8-for-10 |
| Mya Bundick | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5-for-6 |
| Lyla Brown | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1-for-4 |
| Rowan Newell | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ellie Jeffers | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Liza Walker | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Bekah Rohs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 46 | 32 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14-for-20 |