There were a ton of underclassman on the floor for both Fairfax and T.C. Williams in Monday night’s first round regional game between the two teams. But it was the Titans’ youth that came up big down the stretch for host T.C.
Freshman Amor Harris scored 16 points, including some key free throws late, and sophomore N’jya Hopkins added 14 and a big steal to boot, as T.C. Williams defeated Fairfax 53-49.
With Fairfax up 47-46 in the final minute of the game, the Rebels had the ball and were looking to kill clock. Hopkins wasn’t going to let that happen, jumping in front of a pass and going coast-to-coast for a layup.
Then, after Fairfax senior Melanie George sank a beautiful baseline fadeaway jumper, it was Harris’ time to shine. She immediately took the ball strong to the hole, drawing the foul. Only one of two from the line until that point, the freshman calmly swished two free throws to give the Titans back the lead with 11.4 seconds left.
The Rebels took a time out but turned the ball over on the in-bounds. They fouled T.C. senior Caroline Schie, who missed both free throws. The Rebels could not corral the rebound, and had to foul again with 5.9 seconds left. Titans senior Halle Walker made the first free throw, but missed the second. Again the Rebels couldn’t rebound, as Harris came in and grabbed in the miss.
The Rebels fouled Harris with 3.5 left, and the T.C. freshman again shrugged off the pressure of the situation to sink two more free throws, providing the final margin of victory. The young Titans had advanced in the tournament, ending Fairfax’s season.
“They showed fortitude tonight,” said Titans coach Marcus McKinney of his team and young stars. “In past games we’ve kind of let down in the second half, but I think those losses prepared us for this situation.”
Schie added 12 points for the Titans (14-11). She was one of the starters who all delivered five rebounds or more, a key down the stretch against the smallish Rebels.
Fairfax (13-10) was led by senior guards George and Sam McNaughton, who each delivered 13 points. McNaughton and George never got going offensively at the same time, however, with McNaughton scoring all her points in the first half and George scoring all of hers in the second. Fairfax, a very young team itself, got help from its underclassmen as well. Molly Brunk and Elyse Autrey combined for 17 points, and fellow freshman Riya Menon provided a nice spark off the bench.
The Rebels’ future is bright despite the loss, but T.C. Williams’ right now story could get even brighter. The Titans advance to face Falls Church tonight at home, the Jaguars an upset winner at South County last night. Still, it’s one step at a time for the Titans, who made the state tourney last year but lost key pieces and have a new coach in the veteran McKinney.
“These girls have had three different coaches in three years so [this season] has been an adjustment for everybody,” McKinney said. “We’ve over-achieved and now we’re here, with a big chance to keep it going tomorrow.”
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| TC WILLIAMS | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| HARRIS | 5-11 | 5-6 | 16 | 7 | 1 | |
| HOPKINS | 5-13 | 3-6 | 13 | 5 | 3 | |
| WENDLING | 0-4 | 3-5 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |
| WALKER | 1-4 | 3-6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | |
| SCHIE | 4-16 | 2-5 | 12 | 6 | 1 | |
| White | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Rease | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| Fields | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 17-50 | 16-28 | 53 | 36 | 7 | |
| Threes: Schie 2-8, Harris 1-3, Wendling 0-2, Hopkins 0-3 | ||||||
| FAIRFAX | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| McNaughton | 4-12 | 2-2 | 13 | 7 | 7 | |
| AUTREY | 2-6 | 4-9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | |
| GEORGE | 5-14 | 2-4 | 13 | 3 | 1 | |
| BRUNK | 3-8 | 0-0 | 9 | 6 | 1 | |
| KENT | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |
| McCarty | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Prestosh | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Williams | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Menon | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 17-49 | 8-15 | 49 | 28 | 14 | |
| Threes: McNaughton 3-5, Brunk 3-8, George 1-6, Autrey 0-1, Prestosh 0-2 | ||||||