Valerie Blankenship had seven three-pointers en route to 29 points as host Woodgrove defeated Broad Run, 85-72. The Wolverines as a team hit 18 three-pointers, tying their own VHSL single-game record which they had established last February in a game against Loudoun Valley.
Broad Run certainly came to play in the Catoctin District battle for first place. Spartans guard Sienna Bhide came out hot, scoring 10 first quarter points as her team took an early lead. But then Blankenship took hot to another level, burying six first half threes as Woodgrove took a 43-30 halftime lead.
“You saw they got off to a lead early and we were able to speed up the game,” said Woodgrove Coach Derek Fisher. “We’re a lot better when the game is faster…we started hitting some shots. Our forwards can score inside and outside…usually you want to inside-out, tonight was outside, then in.”
Broad Run came out hot in the third quarter as well, with consecutive three-pointers by junior Claire Pollock and freshman Lacey Pollard to cut the Woodgrove lead to 43-36. A few minutes later Pollard found Bhide and senior Claire Erny open for consecutive lay-ups to reduce the lead to 48-45, Woodgrove.
Then Woodgrove’s three-point barrage resumed. Junior center Rowan Newell found senior Kate Thurman open for a three-pointer to make it 51-45. A few seconds later, Thurman returned the favor, hitting Newell with a pass for a three to make it 54-45. Broad Run kept scoring, but never got it to a one or two possession game again.

“We took the right shots tonight,” Fisher said. “You’re playing against a good team so you better score…they made two or three runs against us.”
There was no lack of offensive standouts for Woodgrove, the defending Class 4 state champions, in this one. May Marsh had 17 points off five three-pointers, and fellow sophomore Mya Bundick added 12 points. Bundick also repeatedly got into the lane and found Woodgrove’s open shooters when the defense collapsed–she had eight assists. The Wolverines bench had 18 points, with freshman guard Makayla Titus contributing eight points.
For the Spartans, Bhide led the way with 22 points, while senior Aliya Wilson scored 16 second half points on her way to 20 total.
The victory gave Woodgrove (4-0, 12-6) a game lead over Broad Run (3-1, 11-4) in the Catoctin. The two teams will meet again February 13th at Broad Run.
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
WOODGROVE | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
THURMAN | 2-6 | 0-0 | 6 | 4 | 5 | |
BUNDICK | 3-9 | 5-7 | 12 | 3 | 8 | |
MARSH | 6-14 | 0-0 | 17 | 10 | 3 | |
BLANKENSHIP | 10-18 | 2-2 | 29 | 10 | 2 | |
NEWELL | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
Titus | 3-10 | 2-2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
Ingram | 2-5 | 2-2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
Seneca | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
Jeffers | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
TOTALS | 28-70 | 11-13 | 85 | 32 | 21 | |
Threes: Blankenship 7-13, Marsh 5-10, Thurman 2-4, Newell 1-3, Ingram 1-3, Bundick 1-4, Seneca 1-4, Titus 0-4 | ||||||
BROAD RUN | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
BHIDE | 8-17 | 3-4 | 22 | 9 | 2 | |
ERNY | 3-9 | 2-4 | 8 | 9 | 3 | |
POLLARD | 4-15 | 4-5 | 13 | 10 | 6 | |
POLLOCK | 2-5 | 0-0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | |
WILSON | 8-12 | 1-4 | 20 | 7 | 4 | |
O’Connell | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Markowitz | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
Lee | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Malhi | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
TOTALS | 27-67 | 10-17 | 72 | 41 | 16 | |
Threes: Wilson 3-5, Bhide 3-7, Pollock 1-1, Pollard 1-4, Erny 0-1, Lee 0-1, Malhi 0-1, O’Connell 0-3 |