In a 4C Regional Tournament semi-final Tuesday night, Tuscarora got 15 points, 12 points, and five assists from Alysa Carrigan to defeat Broad Run, 45-35. The win propelled the Dulles District regular season champs into the Regional Championship versus Woodgrove, and guaranteed the Huskies a state tournament berth.
Tuscarora jumped to an 11-2 lead early. Carrigan wasn’t scoring a ton, but was finding her young teammates open for baskets. Carrigan, a senior, started the game alongside three freshmen and one sophomore. Those young players have been playing better as the season has progressed, as has Tuscarora in general.
“The past two days we’ve been on ’em [our young players] to shoot with confidence, shoot when you’re open,” said Huskies Coach Tayler Dodson. “That’s the only way we’re going to win games, if other people [than Carrigan] are knocking down shots.”
They did, as freshman Delainey Duggan knocked down two first half three-pointers and sophomore Audrey Szebalskie had five first half points. Sophomore Paige Hahn was solid off the bench, too, making both shots she attempted in the first half and grabbing four rebounds.
Still, Broad Run hung around, trailing only 19-15 at the half. Early in the second half, the Spartans’ prospects looked bright when Carrigan picked up her third foul. But Dodson wasn’t going to take Carrigan out of the game for very long.
“I told her she had to be smart,” said Dodson of Carrigan, who also anchors the Huskies’ defense with her ability to block shots. “We knew our defense was going to be a little stalled out, just because she gets steals, blocked shots from being aggressive. But playoff basketball, you kind of have to ride or die with your best players for as long as you can.”
Still, even in foul trouble Carrigan made some third quarter shots and owned the boards, as Tuscarora led 33-22 after three. Then, a quick 6-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter essentially iced the game, as the Huskies’ full-court press created turnovers and easy opportunities. After a time out Broad Run hit some threes to get back within single digits, but Carrigan hit seven second half free throws to put the game away.
Broad Run was led by junior Aliya Wilson’s 11 points and senior guard Alex Gonzalez’s nine. Junior G-F. Claire Erny added seven first half points and was effective at drawing fouls on Carrigan, but did not score in the second half. The loss was disappointing for Broad Run, whose season concluded with a record of 15-10.
Tuscarora’s (19-6) season continues against Woodgrove. The 25-1 Wolverines will be a tremendous challenge for the Huskies, but Dodson’s team is playing well when it matters most.
“If other people are knocking down shots, it brings Alysa up,” said the coach. “You see kids like Delainey knocking ’em down, Audrey had a couple of big shots in that third quarter, and it just comes from confidence.”
–Chris Jollay
| TUSCARORA | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| DUGGAN | 4-9 | 1-1 | 12 | 2 | 1 | |
| PAGE | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| URE | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| CARRIGAN | 4-12 | 7-10 | 15 | 12 | 5 | |
| SZEBALSKIE | 3-4 | 0-0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | |
| Hahn | 4-5 | 0-0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | |
| Owusu | 1-3 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Tikalsky | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 16-35 | 8-13 | 45 | 21 | 13 | |
| Threes: Duggan 3-6, Szebalskie 2-3, Carrigan 0-1, Owusu 0-1, Page 0-2 | ||||||
| BROAD RUN | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| BOLLE | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |
| ERNY | 2-6 | 3-6 | 7 | 6 | 1 | |
| GONZALEZ | 2-6 | 4-4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | |
| HUSSEIN | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| WILSON | 5-8 | 0-3 | 11 | 5 | 2 | |
| Bhide | 2-9 | 0-0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
| Adams | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 12-37 | 7-13 | 35 | 24 | 9 | |
| Threes: Bhide 2-6, Wilson 1-1, Gonzalez 1-2, Adams 0-1, Hussein 0-2 | ||||||