Ashburn, Va. — For the past 15 years, the Stone Bridge High School girls basketball team has come up short of winning a district championship. That changed on February 18 when the No. 2 Bulldogs traveled down the road in Ashburn to take on the No. 1 seeded Briar Woods Falcons.
After starting the season 3-8—including a 9-point loss to Briar Woods on January 5—things started clicking for Stone Bridge, who flipped the script on the Falcons a month later during their second meeting on February 4 and ended the regular season in a three-way tie with Briar Woods and Potomac Falls atop the Potomac District standings.
After defeating John Champe and Riverside earlier in the district tournament to extend their win streak to 10 games, the Bulldogs found themselves in the same spot some players had been two years earlier: vying for their first district championship in the Falcons’ home gym. This time, the story would be different, as the Stone Bridge defense held Briar Woods to just 13 points in the second half to claim its first district championship since 2011 in a 43-31 win.
“I’m just excited for the girls because the beginning of this year was a little rough, but they just kept trusting and believing, and they’ve been playing awesome. I can’t be more proud of them,” Stone Bridge head coach Emily Thompson said. “We want to keep the momentum going forward. Hopefully it continues because they’re playing amazing, and it’s awesome for us to see because we’re not doing that much different. They’re just finally putting the pieces together, and it’s been a couple games now that we’ve had some good performances.”
The win did not come without a fight, though, as Briar Woods established the early lead behind a few free throws from senior forward Brianna Zaher (7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block). The Falcons forced a couple turnovers, and sophomore guard Tanisha Srinivas (10 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals) and senior guard Tanvi Kancharla (9 points, 2 rebounds, 4 steals) capitalized on the opportunities to go up 8-4.
But Stone Bridge junior guard Sheila Suarez (12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal) quickly turned the tide by grabbing an offensive rebound right under the net for a putback and then scoring from outside the arc on the next possession to give the Bulldogs the 9-8 lead after one quarter.
“We just wanted to play our game,” Suarez said. “We had it in us to do it, and we just had to execute.”
At the start of the second quarter, Briar Woods sophomore guard Rianna D’Souza (2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals) grabbed a rebound and distributed to Zaher, who fired a shot from the outside before the defense had time to set up. Srinivas then converted on the next drive as the Falcons reclaimed the 13-9 lead.
But a speedy response from Stone Bridge sophomore guard Keeley Billings (9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal) for three and junior forward Ava Ryan (14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist) for two swung the advantage back to the Bulldogs’ side.
Srinivas countered with a 2-pointer, and then D’Souza snagged a couple steals before converting on a layup, but 17-14 would be the last time the Falcons would hold the advantage.
An 8-1 run to end the first half gave the Bulldogs the lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as junior forward Emma Spizuoco (6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) stepped up with 4 of her 7 rebounds as well as half of her total points, and Billings got inside with just seconds remaining to give Stone Bridge the 22-18 lead heading into the locker room.
Briar Woods senior forward Rishithasree Poshala (3 points, 1 rebound) brought it within three after splitting a pair of free throws and again after finding an open lane to the basket. But Ryan controlled the game inside the paint, grabbing 6 of her 7 rebounds and scoring 8 of her game-high 14 points—half of which came from drawing fouls and shooting free throws.
“It’s really on the defensive end that we’ve been playing really well,” Thompson said. “Defensively, the focus is staying in front of girls, contesting all shots, and when the first ball goes up, everyone’s gotta box.”
Although Srinivas made a couple free throws and got to the hoop for two, Suarez ended the quarter with another basket to extend the lead to 33-25.
“They’re all stepping up in different ways every game. It’s important for everyone to be ready and confident in their opportunity on the floor,” Thompson said. “I think they’re doing a great job with their confidence and with positive encouragement from us coaches that they’re able to be successful on the court.”
Briar Woods made another push at the start of the final frame, as Kancharla found an open lane on the opening drive and then made a difficult shot in traffic to draw the and-one and bring the score within three at 33-30.
But once again, the Bulldogs had an answer as Billings sank a three, senior guard Charlotte Borley (2 points, 2 assists) contributed two, and Spizuoco bounced a perfect pass for Suarez to finish under the rim.
“We have a lot of our talent back together. Last year, Emma tore her ACL, and so she was out, and Ava didn’t play last year because of soccer,” Suarez said. “So we have our whole team back together this year, and it’s really fun.”
Stone Bridge also continued to apply pressure on the glass, as Suarez came down with 4 of her 7 rebounds in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Falcons 27-16 on the night.
“We were boxing out and all my girls crashed hard on the boards,” Thompson said. “They made it an emphasis within themselves. I heard them in their huddle saying, ‘Every rebound is ours,’ and that attitude is a start to putting it on the floor.”
After Stone Bridge took the double-digit lead with a little less than three minutes remaining, free throws were all that fell for either team for the rest of the game. Kancharla and Billings each split a pair, while Ryan knocked down both of hers to give the Bulldogs the 43-31 victory.
“Two years ago, we played in the same gym for the same district championship, and it was a close game. We ended up losing, and so it’s fun to come back here and win it,” Suarez said. “We still have a lot to get better at, so we’ll be practicing a lot and putting in the work there. We want to keep doing the same thing we did tonight: keep playing our game.”
Both teams will advance to the VHSL Region 5D tournament. Briar Woods (9-3, 18-6) will host Lightridge in a quarterfinal game on February 20 in a rematch of a Potomac District semifinal. Stone Bridge (9-3, 14-8) will have a bye through the quarterfinals and will host the winner of the game between Riverside and Riverbend in a semifinal on February 24.
“We want to continue what we’re doing. All these teams are really competitive. These games aren’t in any aspect out of reach. They’re all super close, taxing games on the kids,” Thompson said. “So I told them before the game, ‘It’s super fun to play in these games because these are the games you remember when it’s all said and done.’ We want to keep up, stay focused, and do what we need to do, and we’re gonna be happy at the end of the day.”
Stone Bridge Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Ava Ryan | 14 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6-for-7 |
| Sheila Suarez | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Keeley Billings | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Emma Spizuoco | 6 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4-for-6 |
| Charlotte Borley | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Gretchen Griswold | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 43 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 11-for-15 |
Briar Woods Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Tanisha Srinivas | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Tanvi Kancharla | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Brianna Zaher | 7 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4-for-6 |
| Rishithasree Poshala | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Rianna D’Souza | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sumaya Farah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Total | 31 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 9-for-14 |