Leesburg, Va. — Coming off a convincing early season win over Briar Woods, the Loudoun Valley High School girls basketball team was back on the road for their third game of the season when they travelled to Riverside for a non-league matchup on December 10 in Leesburg.
After surrendering the lead early in the second quarter, the Vikings used their size and stout defense to come from behind and eventually outlast the Rams, 40-36.
“Riverside played awesome. For a while, it didn’t feel like they could miss a shot,” Loudoun Valley head coach Bill Reynolds said. “We had every opportunity to fold and give up, but we didn’t. I told our team that it was amazing we battled through that.”
Jumping out to an early 10-2 lead, the Vikings had their first test midway through the first quarter when Riverside junior point guard Maia Brown (12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals) stole a pass before going coast-to-coast to finish an and-one layup. On the next Loudoun Valley possession, Riverside senior shooting guard Breanne Blubaugh (11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) grabbed a steal before burying a three on the other end to cut the Vikings’ lead to 10-7.
After a nice finish on an inbound pass re-extended the Loudoun Valley lead to 5, Brown scored five in a row to tie things up late in the first quarter.
Looking to take advantage of their size, the Vikings turned to their bigs who temporarily squashed the Rams’ run. Led by junior forwards Maggie Mills (16 points, 13 rebounds) and Payton Mandichak (11 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks), the Vikings went on a 6-0 run to go up 18-12.
“It’s such an advantage to have those two great post players,” Reynolds said. “They play well together, they’re selfless, they look for each other, and I think they played the whole game which is awesome.”
Trailing by 6, the Rams once again turned to the three ball, going on a 14-0 run, featuring threes from Blubaugh, Brown, and senior forward Sam Wiles (9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks).
Needing to steal some momentum before the half, Loudoun Valley junior point guard Alyssa Tribino (2 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists) found Mandichak and Mills for easy buckets as the second quarter wound down, cutting the Riverside lead to 26-22 heading into the intermission.
A Tribino assist to sophomore guard Jordan Phillips (8 points, 2 assists, 2 blocks) cut the deficit to just two early in the second half, before another Blubaugh three extended the Riverside lead to 29-24.
Three of the next five possessions proved fruitful for the Vikings as Mandichak finished on a couple put backs and assisted junior guard Anna Ramos (3 points, 5 rebounds) on a quick two as Loudoun Valley completely erased the Riverside lead at 29-29.
Riverside reignited thanks to back-to-back-to-back steals by Brown, resulting in a short 6-0 run to end the third.
Despite the 35-29 deficit heading into the fourth quarter, the Vikings were up for the challenge as Mills grabbed an early offensive rebound and scored to cut the Riverside lead to 35-31.
Two trips later, Tribino found Mills on an inbound play to cut the lead to 35-33, before Phillips knocked down a three to give the Vikings their first lead since 18-12 late in the second quarter.
Tribino then scored her one and only bucket of the night on a pass from Phillips to extend the Vikings’ lead to 38-35.
With the lead, the Vikings then turned to their defense to fend off the Rams late in the fourth quarter, and they did just that, allowing just 1 point over the last eight minutes to hold on for the win, 40-36.
“Just to see that we can win on defense and they can buy into defense being our moniker, that’s pretty cool. We’re getting back to the old Valley ways of playing defense first,” Reynold said. “We’ve been banged up and sick, so it’s been tough, but after three years, it feels like these girls are finally buying in.”
Maya Lopez captured 40+ photos at the game! More photos to come!
Loudoun Valley Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Maggie Mills | 16 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1-for-2 |
| Payton Mandichak | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1-for-2 |
| Jordan Phillips | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0-for-0 |
| Anna Ramos | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Alyssa Tribino | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Ava Cassella | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Mirren Boswell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 40 | 37 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 3-for-6 |
Riverside Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Maia Brown | 12 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Breanne Blubaugh | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sam Wiles | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1-for-2 |
| Riley Brown | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Lyla Hobiena | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Kadence Loucks | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Maddie Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 36 | 21 | 6 | 12 | 5 | 3-for-5 |