Purcellville, Va. — Having cruised through the Catoctin District regular season, the Woodgrove High School girls basketball team had a team and an individual goal to achieve as they wrapped up the district tournament: win the team title and get senior guard Angelina Nice her 1000th point.
Entering the Catoctin District championship game with 983 career points, Nice chipped in 18 to surpass the 1000-point mark, while leading the Wolverines to a 75-40 win over the Broad Run Spartans to claim the Catoctin District title on February 15 in Purcellville.
“Some schools have one main player they rely on, but we have a lot of talent across the board, which takes the pressure off of that one person,” Nice said. “Without that pressure, we all work better together.”
After scoring 11 points in the first half, Nice was just 6 points shy of the 1000-point milestone. Then on the first two possessions of the second half, Nice connected to bring her career point total up to 998. For the next 11 minutes, the 1000-point bucket eluded Nice, but with just under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Radford-commit finally got an and-one to fall, giving her points 999 and 1000. After the made free throw, Nice finished the night with 1001 career points.
“Less than a minute into the third quarter, I was down to two points, then I went the rest of the third quarter and most of the fourth without a make,” Nice said. “It was really just a relieving feeling. It’s been a goal of mine for so long, so being able to accomplish that is kind of insane.”
Nice—who missed all but four games of her sophomore year with an injury—entered her junior year with less than 100 career points. But the work she put in allowed her to reach her goal before the end of her senior season.
“I’ve been lucky to coach a lot of great players, and she—just like the rest of them—deserved it,” Woodgrove head coach Derek Fisher said. “We get to see all the work she puts in behind the scenes, and it was great to see that pay off.”
While getting to 1000 points was a goal for Nice, the Wolverines still had the Spartans to contend with.
Broad Run and Woodgrove traded baskets through the first few minutes of the Catoctin District championship game, but with the score tied at 7-7, the Wolverines took over. Senior guard Sadie Shores hit a three to start a 13-0 run which junior center Valerie Blankenship capped off with a layup to extend the Woodgrove lead to 20-7.
That lead never dipped below double digits as the Wolverines finished with four scorers in double figures including Blankenship, Nice, Shores, and freshman forward Amaya Ramey.
“We always want to stick to the way we play: play fast and play together,” said Shores, who finished with a game-high 26. “We can do that on any given night with the group of girls we have.”
While the Wolverines started to click, the Spartans continued to grind away, looking to get back into the game. Senior guards Morgan Adams, Brooke Bolle, Alex Gonzalez, and Ella Hussein combined for 26 points in an effort to keep Broad Run’s title hopes alive.
“They don’t get rattled, they don’t stop playing, they don’t give up,” Fisher said. “What we were concerned about was limiting the number of second and third shot attempts. If they’re hitting their first shot, that’s just what good teams do; if they’re getting the second shot, third shot, that’s what will hurt you, because they’re just too good to give them extra attempts.”
Despite the stalwart demeanor of the Broad Run team, their effort came up short as Woodgrove remained unbeaten against district opponents en route to a 75-40 win in the Catoctin District championship.
“We’ve known from the beginning that we have a really talented team,” Nice said. “But we just have to take it one game at a time.”
Prior to the game, both teams had already secured their position in the VHSL Region 4C tournament where the Spartans will travel to Dulles District No. 1 Tuscarora on February 20 while the Wolverines host Dulles District No. 2 Loudoun Valley.
“We’re all on the same page. There’s nobody questioning their role,” Fisher said. “We have been consistent, and we think we’re ready for the night when not everything’s going well, because we have consistent preparation. The results are out of our control, but we’re really happy with our preparation.”
Sam Mesecar captured 150+ photos at the game!
Woodgrove Stats
| Woodgrove | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Sadie Shores | 26 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2-for-3 |
| Angelina Nice | 18 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4-for-5 |
| Amaya Ramey | 11 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Valerie Blankenship | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Lyla Brown | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| May Marsh | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Mya Bundick | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Carly Franzen | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 75 | 34 | 19 | 14 | 4 | 6-for-8 |
Broad Run Stats
| Broad Run | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Alex Gonzalez | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Brooke Bolle | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Claire Erny | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3-for-4 |
| Ella Hussein | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sienna Bhide | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Aliya Wilson | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Morgan Adams | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Claire Pollock | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 40 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4-for-6 |