Johnson
Keilani Johnson broke a 41-all tie with four seconds left to give Freedom a big Cardinal District victory.

Keilani Johnson drive gives Freedom-Woodbridge 43-41 victory over Potomac

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Senior Keilani Johnson’s basket with four seconds left capped a fourth quarter Freedom-Woodbridge rally, as the Eagles defeated host Potomac in Cardinal District action Friday night, 43-41.

The victory was a big win for Freedom, which fell at home to Potomac earlier this year. By avenging the loss, Freedom moved to 5-1 in the district, tying the Panthers atop the Cardinal District standings.

It was uphill the whole way. Potomac took a 17-8 lead early, but Freedom rallied behind senior Savannah Price’s 15 first half points to close to within one point at halftime. An already physical contest got even more physical in the third quarter, with Potomac again forging ahead, taking a 36-30 lead into the fourth.

Potomac led 41-38 with 1:14 left when Freedom sophomore Mariann “Angel” Akinyemi received the ball in the corner at the three-point line. Though she hadn’t attempted a three-pointer all game, after a brief hesitation she calmly drilled the shot to tie things up at 41.

 

Potomac’s Trinity Riley then got a clean look at a three-pointer, but missed, and the rebound went out of bounds, back to the Panthers. Miya Semenuk’s three then rattled out and Johnson cleared the rebound, brought the ball down the court with 30.6 seconds left, and the Eagles called time out.

A play was drawn up in the huddle, but as happens so often in end-of-game situations, it didn’t go entirely as planned. Still, Johnson received the ball on the perimeter after the in-bounds, and wisely began to dribble the clock down before she made her move.

“I was just…nervous,” a very happy but modest Johnson said after the game. “My team gave me an opportunity to attack, so I attacked. Even if I had missed I knew they had my back.”

 

The celebration was then on, as Freedom’s players basked in the win with the numerous Eagles parents and fans that made the short trip down Route 1 to Potomac. The gym was loud the whole evening, but no moment louder than after Johnson’s game-winner.

Johnson finished with 17 points to match Price’s output on the evening. While Price did most of her damage in the first half, Johnson scored 11 of her points after halftime.

Potomac (5-1, 6-4) was led by senior Taylor Allen’s 12 points and sophomore Memunatu Conteh’s 10 points and 14 rebounds. Allen had a hard fall late in the fourth quarter of the hotly-contested game and did not return.

While this was not its night, Potomac certainly could get another crack at Freedom (5-1, 9-6) in the district tournament next month. Johnson thinks going forward if the Eagles are to meet the challenge, the recipe is simple.

“We have to play for each other and we have to give 100% for each other.”

–Chris Jollay

all statistics are unofficial

FREEDOM-WOODBRIDGE FG FT TP REB AST
KEILANI JOHNSON 6-9 5-9  17  4  1
KEILANA JOHNSON 1-9 0-0  2  4  2
AKINYEMI 2-5 0-2  5  4  1
TODD 1-4 0-2  2  3  3
PRICE 5-15 6-6  17  5  1
Munoz Linares 0-1 0-0  0  1  0
Albert 0-1 0-0  0  0  0
Smith 0-2 0-0  0  0  0
DeVaugh 0-1 0-0  0  2  0
TOTALS 15-47 11-19  43  23  8
Threes: Akinyemi 1-1, Price 1-3, Smith 0-1, Todd 0-2
POTOMAC FG FT TP REB AST
M.SEMENUK 1-6 2-4  4   4   1
PULLER 1-4 6-12  8   3   4
RILEY 0-4 0-0  0   1   0
ALLEN 3-3 6-7  12   4   0
CONTEH 5-11 0-2  10   14   0
Thomas 0-2 2-2  2   3   0
B.Semenuk 2-2 0-0  5   1   0
Dabney 0-1 0-0  0   0   0
TOTALS 12-33 16-27  41  30   5
Threes: B.Semenuk 1-1, Puller 0-1, M.Semenuk 0-2, Riley 0-2