As with just about any year, the National District again will be headlined by the Hayfield Hawks and Edison Eagles. That despite considerable turnover at Hayfield in the offseason.
Hayfield won 20 games last year and went undefeated during the regular season in the district, but fell to Edison in the National Tournament. That created a much harder path in the Occoquan Regional, where Hayfield fell early to West Potomac. That team only had one senior, but in the offseason the Hawks lost their coach (Jason Kirby) and three big guns (Courtney Breland, Rylee Spinner, Ziyana Williams) to transfer.
With those three players the Hawks were possibly a state title contender. Still, even without them the prognosis is very good under new coach Adam Brown. Senior guard Alexis Cox is back, and she’s a National District First Team and All-Defensive selection from last year. Cox can set the table for others as a point guard, but when the chips are down against tough opponents the Hawks need her scoring the basketball. She is a good shooter from long range and her length helps her get to the line on the drive.
Forward Eva Philips is back as well, and her height and ability to hit the three-pointer have Division III college teams intrigued. Meanwhile, fellow senior Madison Davis is happy to do the dirty work inside and on the glass. Davis is a district all-defensive selection to boot. A real breakout candidate is junior guard Mariah Overton. Overton has looked very good during the offseason and is also solid defensively. She has all the tools and should be a double-digit scorer this season.
Program depth took a hit with all the transfers, but the Hawks still have some. Junior forward Marcella Oboite returns, and she will have a bigger role this season as well.
Edison meanwhile, lost a great senior class but will still be right there battling for the National crown. Senior guard Kennedy Marshall is an explosive player who really gets a chance to pour in points now. While she’ll be the main focus of defenses, the athletic Marshall is still going to do plenty of damage. She can get hot from three, and she has a quick first step that very few defenders can counter.
Seven other players return from last year’s roster, and the minutes should mostly go to those players. Pretty safe bets to get lots of minutes are sophomore guard Giselle Hunter and junior guard Regan Kauffman. Hunter made the All-National Rookie Team as a freshman last season, impressing with her aggressive play and ability to (more than) hold up defensively against older players. With defenses focused on Marshall, Hunter will have a big opportunity to score more on offense. Kauffman’s strength and ability to play physical defense in the lane makes her very important, as well as her ability to hit from outside.
One key for Edison could be senior point guard Alayna Henderson and junior point guard Abby Christman. If those two can man the point effectively, it will enable Coach Dianne Lewis to play more small ball, and also set the offense for Marshall better. Still, Edison can’t play small ball against everyone, so a few forwards stepping up from last year’s solid JV team, including Mira Stanish, would help as well.
Both Hayfield and Edison have questions once they reach the Occoquan Regional Tournament, but it isn’t likely anyone in the National can mount a serious threat to them in-district. That doesn’t mean no one else here is worth watching, however. The Thomas Jefferson Colonials lost a very good senior class, but return All-Rookie guard-forward Julia Baer plus senior starter Elsie Honny. TJ also returns six other players from last year’s team, so Coach Frank McNulty will have some experience to lean on.
Last year’s fourth place team, the Mount Vernon Majors, lost nine seniors plus their one-two offensive punch of Natalie Turner and Rachael Sykes, so the Majors will be very inexperienced this season. The Majors do return solid players in senior guard Jada Curry and senior KaMiyah Dabner, however.
With those two squads having lost a lot of capable seniors, there’s an opportunity for the teams that finished in the bottom half of the district last year to move up. The Lewis Lancers have a really, really good returning district first team player in junior forward Donnie Goodwin. She’s tall but can handle the ball, acting as a point forward, posting up, or just working to get shot within the flow of offense off-ball. Lewis has eight other returnees, including Honorable Mention All-National senior guard Christina Mai and the athletic Morgan Lefevre, so Lewis could finish a lot higher this year than they did last year (seventh).
The Falls Church Jaguars could step right into that top division as well. While the Jaguars lost a solid senior class they return three starters: junior forward Sarah Roeder, junior guard Charlotte Henry, and senior guard Esmerelyn Regalado Tobal. Six others return, including all-around solid athlete sophomore Carol Cahir. The Jaguars should have more depth than most teams in the National as a result.
The Justice Wolves perhaps don’t have quite the depth of Falls Church, but they return three starters as well, including a guard we’ve liked for some time in Taylor Rivers. Rivers is an all-hustle, physical guard who can be very tough to stop in transition. Also back are senior forward Aaliyah Chavarria and senior wing Nour Jaouhari. Junior Abigail Gels is another good athlete that will also help. If enough players step up to help on offense, Justice could take a jump.
Meanwhile, the Annandale Atoms finished last in the National District last season but should be improved this year after only graduating three seniors. Senior guard Megan Murray is the team’s leader, after pacing the Atoms in scoring a season ago.
–Chris Jollay