It always feels good to beat the goliath of the area.
Last night, the Centreville Wildcats made a statement and avenged a previous loss to the juggernaut Madison Warhawks, 52-40, to move to 14-4 and 5-2 in the competitive Concorde.
“It’s a big win for our kids. They’ve never beat Madison.” said Centreville Head Coach Jo McLane.
You could feel the excitement in upperclassmen players like junior Hannah Wakefield (13 points, nine rebounds, two assists) and senior Ryleigh Thurston (seven points, two rebounds, one assist) when the Wildcats dribbled out the clock to the buzzer, after pushing a tested lead back to double digits with just under three minutes to play.
The Wildcats came out determined in front of their home crowd, opening up a 5-0 lead and holding Madison scoreless the first three minutes of the game. The Warhawks were missing starting post Stella Gougoufkas, one of their offensive threats, which led them to only scoring six in the opening period.
However, because basketball is a game of runs (and because Madison is Madison), the Warhawks did not go away. They outscored Centreville 17-9 in the second quarter and went into halftime only down six. Senior G/F Sarah Link (19 points, two rebounds, two steals, two assists) went to work turning defense to offense to the tune of eight points in the quarter.
“Tonight honestly wasn’t our best game. We turned the ball over a lot in that second quarter when they changed it up,” McLane added. The Warhawks showed a trapping zone in the second which led to a few turnovers and easy baskets in transition.
The Warhawks continued to rally in the third quarter and cut the lead to as little as five at 32-27. But Centreville maintained its composure and went into the fourth up nine.
McLane also expressed how her kids are learning different ways to win: “They had a run, they’re going to punch, we’ve gotta punch back. We can’t hang our heads.”
The Wildcats definitely punched back, closing out the game with several displays of beautiful patience and execution on offense. Junior Forward Morgan Carpenter (two points, three rebounds, two steals, one assist) found an open Malia Siriwardene for a three one possession, then Siriwardene paid it forward to the freshman Claire Kang (12 points, two steals, three rebounds) for a three of her own.
It was also the leadership from the aforementioned upperclassmen who kept their poise down the stretch. After Madison’s Kayla Dixon (eight points, two assists) made a layup, it was Hannah Wakefield’s voice in transition saying “that’s too easy white,” knowing that in order to close it out, the Wildcats needed to step it up.
“All the credit goes to the kids. I don’t do much when they’re out there, they call the stuff, run it, their basketball IQ is really good, they’ve worked really hard so everything goes to them. I’m just there to yell at them in practice,” McLane said with a smile.
Madison (16-3, 6-1), takes their first loss in the Concorde but remains a contender in the district and beyond. Link shined despite the loss, and was followed by junior forward Avery Griepentrog with four points, two rebounds, and five blocks. The Warhawks have their rematch with Oakton later this week, in which their first contest ended with a low 20-15 victory.
Centreville celebrates their seniors in their next home matchup against Chantilly.
–Max Nagle
@MaxWritesHoops