Leesburg, Va. — This season, the focus for the Heritage High School girls basketball team has been defense. While the Pride were allowing opponents an average of only 32.6 points per game heading into their VHSL Class 4 state semifinal game against Hampton, holding the Crabbers—who were averaging nearly 70 points per game behind the effort of two six-foot forwards—to those numbers seemed like a tall order. But the Pride were up for the challenge, as they implemented a new defensive strategy in order to hold Hampton to a season-low 30 points en route to a 41-30 victory on March 7 in Leesburg.
“It’s so exciting! This game has been my kryptonite, honestly. I’ve been here the last three years and it’s fun, but winning it is much more fun,” first-year Heritage head coach Tayler Cook said. “We’ve just been preaching to stay the course. Not many teams get this opportunity. You’ve got to beat the best to be the best, and that’s just kind of been our motto this week.”
After a couple Heritage turnovers to start the game led to baskets for Hampton, sophomore guard Keira Stanford (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block) got the Pride on the board with a two-pointer and then assisted senior forward Kaitlyn Puzenski (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) on a three-pointer to bring Heritage within one halfway through the first quarter.
“We were very timid going into the basket,” Puzenski said. “Layups weren’t that manageable with two six-footers down there. So I took a chance, I felt confident, I saw that the three-point shot was open, and I just took it. And I think that starts the ball rolling because once we see the ball go through the hoop, it motivates the rest of us to keep taking shots.”
After a series of turnovers with no output, Heritage junior forward Alyssa Stanford (12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block) made it to the basket on back-to-back trips: first on an assist from junior point guard Riley Makitka (7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) and again after a Makitka rebound and an assist from her younger sister.
“Rebounding was a big highlight for us,” Alyssa Stanford said. “We knew if we didn’t rebound, then we weren’t gonna win.”
Although Hampton sophomore guard Jiana Price (5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) tied the game at 9-9 with a 3-pointer late in the quarter, Puzenski found Makitka inside for a layup to put the Pride up for good at the end of the first.
“We scouted them hard, and we just stuck to the scout,” Alyssa Stanford said. “They were a little bigger than us, so it was just about playing to our strengths, and we followed through on the scout and it showed.”
Heritage limited the Crabbers to just 5 points each in the second and third quarters. Alyssa Stanford was a key component in the defensive effort, preventing Hampton’s big forwards—senior Kaliya Perry (9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block) and sophomore Lyla Ames (3 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal)—from getting opportunities inside.
“A 2-3 defense is not my specialty, it’s not what I do, so I called in some reinforcements. I reached out to [Loudoun County head] coach Raven Short, and said, ‘This is what you do. How would I teach them a match-up zone in two days?’ And our plan was to make that paint as congested as possible,” Cook said. “We’re typically in a full court press; we’re trapping everywhere. We just truly didn’t believe that that was how to beat this team. So we wanted to keep the score low, and we preached to the girls to trust us, and they did a really good job. Kudos to them for being willing to listen, process, and give their best effort in what we were doing.”
Despite the height difference, the Pride worked together to secure rebounds and redistribute the ball. Both Stanford sisters recorded 3 rebounds in the second quarter, and Puzenski pitched in on the offensive end with 5 points to put Heritage up 18-14 at the half.
“It was all about communication. For the 2-3, Alyssa was in the middle; she was guarding Ames and Perry. It was all about letting her know, ‘Hey Alyssa, I got your back, you’re good,’ so she stayed comfortable and she could front them,” Puzenski said. “Rachel and I were on the opposite side, and I think we did that very well, which allowed us to make sure both bigs were boxed out and we got the rebound.”
Although Perry got inside for a basket to start the third quarter and cut the Heritage lead to 2, the Pride went on an 8-0 scoring run behind a three-pointer apiece from Alyssa Stanford and Makitka and a two-pointer from Keira Stanford. The teams traded points for the remainder of the quarter, as both Stanfords contributed another basket. But the damage was done as the Pride took a commanding 30-19 lead heading into the final frame.
“Our ability to score in numerous positions has been our strength all year long. They tried a zone, they tried a man, they were switching around who was guarding who, and I think we did a nice job of recognizing where weaknesses were,” Cook said. “These girls truly are a family on and off the floor, and I think that leads to baskets from everybody because they truly trust whatever is open is open and we’ll live and die by that.”
After a couple unsuccessful trips up and down the court to start the fourth quarter, Hampton looked as though they might start to chip away at the lead as Perry made her way to the basket on a breakaway. But Heritage senior guard Rachel Stewart (2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block) got to the basket first, stood her ground, and took a charge to deny the basket.
“That is Rachel’s specialty. She hasn’t had an opportunity to take a lot this year, but we knew coming into this and actually if we went to man, she was gonna be on Ames or Perry, and our plan was to get her to set her feet,” Cook said. “She’s a very tough kid, and I was like, ‘If there’s one person I’m confident in that will set their feet and attempt to take it, it’s her.’ And she did. When the moment came, she did a great job of getting those feet set and taking a huge charge. And that’s just a momentum change. It slowed down Perry, and it led to points for us.”
After the charge, the Pride extended their lead to the largest of the night at 36-22 behind a basket and free throw each from Alyssa Stanford and Puzenski. Although a late push from the Crabbers on an 8-3 run brought them within 9, they had to rely on fouling down the stretch to get the ball back. Solid free throw shooting from Keira Stanford and Makitka kept the threat at bay and sealed the 41-30 win and a trip to Richmond for the state championship for Heritage.
“This has been four years in the making, and now that we finally have a chance to do it, it feels unreal. I don’t think it’s set in yet that next week we’re gonna be playing at VCU. We’re all super excited. We’ve been working so hard for this all season,” Puzenski said. “I think going to the state championship is gonna help our spirit. Having the state semifinal at Heritage has shown that we can unite together, and I think it will inspire the following years to realize we can actually push our teams into the championship.”
For the first time in school history Heritage (8-0, 24-3) will have the opportunity to compete for the VHSL Class 4 state title against Salem (12-1, 27-2), a 50-43 winner over Manor in the other semifinal. The state championship game will take place at 6pm on March 14 at VCU in Richmond.
“We’re all really excited. We put in a lot of work throughout the summer and this entire year, and really all years we’ve been in high school. We’ve been waiting for this, and we finally did it,” Alyssa Stanford said. “To prepare, we’ll be focusing on resting the next two days, and then getting straight to work: looking at film, writing the scout, and from there executing it and getting the reps in that we need to get ready for next week.”
Maya Lopez captured 45+ photos at the game!
Heritage Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Alyssa Stanford | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1-for-2 |
| Kaitlyn Puzenski | 11 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Keira Stanford | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3-for-6 |
| Riley Makitka | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Rachel Stewart | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Julia Ehrmantraut | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 41 | 27 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 7-for-11 |
Hampton Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Kaliya Perry | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1-for-2 |
| Jakyra BienaiMe | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Jiana Price | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2-for-4 |
| Mekhi Taylor | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Lyla AMes | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Jinae Alexander | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Chri’shiya Rogers | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Khloe Lenard | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 30 | 31 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 4-for-8 |