Star senior guard Maddie Beal stepped up in the fourth quarter to break open a close game, and the Dominion Titans used a huge advantage on the glass to power past visiting Broad Run Monday night, 59-52.
With the game knotted at 46 late Beal sank her first three-pointer of the contest to give her team a lead it would not relinquish. After that she was seemingly everywhere down the stretch, grabbing defensive rebounds, handling the ball, and hitting free throws. When the defense came at her, she was ready with a crisp pass to a teammate near the hoop.
“We’re basically a fourth quarter team,” Beal told us after the game. “We just try to have high energy, push the ball, and come out with a win.”
Dominion’s energy showed through on the glass. After falling behind 13-8 early, Beal’s team started to play with more intensity. With junior center Lauren Brokken (15 rebounds) leading the way, the Titans grabbed offensive rebound after offensive rebound against the smaller Spartans. Dominion missed a lot of shots, but the Titans converted second and third chances consistently, scoring 20 points in the second quarter to grab a six-point halftime lead.
Broad Run battled back in the second half behind star guard Yvonne Lee (10 second half points) and the strong bench play of Kayla Jenkins. But Beal and the advantage on the boards proved too great an obstacle to overcome. The Titans totaled 53 rebounds on the night, 17 more than Broad Run. That led to an astounding 70 field goal attempts for Dominion.
The win was important for the Titans (7-4, 9-9) as it kept them in third place in the Dulles District, ahead of the Spartans.
“We’re trying to get as high a seed as possible, trying to get that home court advantage,” Beal said. “It’s my last season and we haven’t made it really far in the playoffs my past few years. So that’s the whole goal, getting past the first and second game [of the district tourney] into regionals.”
While Beal will be key to that, her teammates played well on Monday night and will have to continue to do so if the Titans are to have postseason success. Brokken’s double-double down low was huge. Elizabeth Rickard and Jessi Montgomery also scored in double figures, while sophomore Bailey Vann scored all of her eight points in the second half.
Broad Run (5-6, 7-10) was led by forward Sydney Sokol, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| DOMINION | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| RICKARD | 4-12 | 3-4 | 11 | 6 | 1 | |
| MONTÂ GOMERY | 4-12 | 3-4 | 11 | 6 | 5 | |
| BROKKEN | 3-13 | 6-8 | 12 | 15 | 0 | |
| VANN | 4-11 | 0-1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | |
| BEAL | 5-14 | 4-4 | 15 | 8 | 5 | |
| Holmes | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Van Wyngaardt | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Christ | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| #44 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 21-70 | 16-22 | 59 | 53 | 12 | |
| Threes: Beal 1-6, Montgomery 0-3, Brokken 0-1 | ||||||
| BROAD RUN | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| LEE | 3-16 | 3-4 | 11 | 6 | 4 | |
| GRIMM | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| THORNHILL | 1-4 | 3-4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |
| SOKOL | 6-15 | 4-4 | 17 | 11 | 0 | |
| KELLY | 1-7 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Jenkins | 4-12 | 2-2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | |
| Neff | 2-6 | 0-0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| Andruzzi | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 18-64 | 13-16 | 52 | 36 | 10 | |
| Threes: Lee 2-6, Sokol 1-2, Neff 0-1 | ||||||