Tuesday night at Robinson in a VHSL Class 6 Quarterfinal the Oakton Cougars looked very solid early, taking a 13-8 lead over the Rams after a quarter. The Cougars had done a great job limiting Robinson star forward Georgia Simonsen’s looks at the basket, with Cougars sophomore forward Jocelynn Kinlaw (six points, first quarter) out-producing her.
That’s when the senior Simonsen and the Rams turned it on, out-scoring the Cougars 15-5 in the second quarter and hanging on for a 44-38 victory. Simonsen finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, and anchored a Rams defense that made things very difficult for the visitors after the first quarter.
“We fed off the energy we had,” said Simonsen, who will play at Radford in college next year. “We could tell that we were shutting their players down defensively, and all of our defensive stops led to offensive points, obviously. And we just didn’t want our season to be over.”
Now, the Rams’ (23-4) season will continue, as they will play at defending state champion Manchester on Friday in the state semifinals. Simonsen is used to the state tournament, but she has never played for a state title at VCU. Her Rams fell in the quarters last year to Thomas Dale, and both years before that in the semis to eventual state champion Madison.
“It would be crazy, especially my senior year,” said Simonsen, when asked what it would mean to make the title game. “I think all the girls know that’s an end goal obviously, and we’re all pushing for that…we lose we go home, we all have that mindset that we need to win.”
Goodness, Georgia Simonsen of Robinson with maybe the best footwork and bucket of the year…@RobinsonRams leads after three 35-29. pic.twitter.com/xGbChMOYXk
— Novahoops.com (@novahoopsCom) March 5, 2025
Tuesday was an exhausting rock fight, with both teams tightening their rotations and only playing six players. Simonsen’s imposing presence was a big factor, but the Northern Region Champions needed contributions from everybody to move on. The Rams led from the second quarter on and played keep-away from Oakton for much of the fourth quarter, but nevertheless a three-pointer by the Cougars’ Sophie Toole brought it to 41-38 with 29.1 seconds left.
At that point Rams senior Jaymie Bevins was fouled, calmly sinking two free throws to make it 43-38. Simonsen provided the final margin of victory with a free throw after she blocked Brooke Chang’s three-point attempt and was fouled.
Bevins finished with six points, as did Rams freshman London Augustin. Junior point guard Madison Coutinho had nine points, most in the second half. Augustin and Coutinho were their usual terrors on defense, tying up balls, diving on the floor, and playing the Cougars aggressively on the perimeter. Junior Lanise Dixon’s contributions off the bench were important, as she had a key fourth quarter basket and provided energy and ball-handling, as the exhausted Cougars tried to apply defensive pressure and play catch-up.
Another very good season concludes for the Cougars (23-6), who won the Concorde District as the third seed and advanced to the state tournament for the third consecutive year. Chang, a junior guard, had 11 points and Kinlaw finished with 10 points. The Cougars were also eliminated by the Rams two years ago in the quarters.
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
| ROBINSON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| COUTINHO | 3-8 | 2-2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | |
| AUGUSTIN | 2-4 | 2-3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | |
| SIMONSEN | 8-16 | 2-3 | 19 | 10 | 4 | |
| BEVINS | 2-5 | 2-2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | |
| LOWDEN | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Dixon | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 17-42 | 8-10 | 44 | 24 | 11 | |
| Threes: Simonsen 1-2, Coutinho 1-3, Lowden 0-3 | ||||||
| OAKTON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| KINLAW | 4-11 | 2-2 | 10 | 9 | 0 | |
| TOOLE | 2-9 | 1-2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
| ZIMMERMAN | 2-6 | 0-0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
| CHANG | 5-7 | 0-0 | 11 | 2 | 4 | |
| ALLY | 2-6 | 1-2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | |
| Brault | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 15-40 | 4-6 | 38 | 21 | 9 | |
| Threes: Chang 1-2, Toole 1-2, Zimmerman 1-4, Ally 1-5 | ||||||