Kailyn Fee scored 24 of her game-high 28 points in the second half as the Cougars defeated T.C. Williams to advance to the semi-finals of the 6A North regional tournament. The win also gave Oakton a berth in the upcoming state tournament.
Fee hit four threes in the second half, each seemingly at critical junctures for the Cougars. She hit one with 1:45 left in the third quarter to give her team its first lead in a long while at 28-26. After the home team responded she buried another to tie the game at 32. Then after the Titans took a 34-32 lead she buried yet another three after faking a drive on her defender and stepping back.
Down the stretch as the Titans fell behind and started to play uncharacteristically nervous, Fee iced the game at the line. On the day the senior point guard hit all 12 of her free throws which proved to be too much for T.C. to overcome. She actually missed one free throw but a lane violation gave her a second chance and she drained it.
There are no second chances for T.C. after the loss. The Titans (25-2) had a brilliant season but were hampered in this contest as their leading scorer, sophomore guard Trinity Palacio, was limited by foul trouble. Senior forward Bhrandi Crenshaw was brilliant in the defeat, scoring 19 points. The rest of the team only shot 8-43 from the field, however.
Oakton (23-3) advances to face Langley in a semi-final Friday at Lake Braddock. Senior forward Delaney Connolly added 10 points for the Cougars. Fred Priester’s team also got a nice lift from junior reserve Mina Mori, who had a couple of key steals late and played some excellent defense.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
OAKTON | FG | FT | TP | RB | AST | |
KENEFICK | 0-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
PLATER | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
FEE | 6-12 | 12-12 | 28 | 2 | 1 | |
ROYLE | 1-7 | 4-6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | |
CONNOLLY | 4-7 | 1-3 | 10 | 4 | 1 | |
Mori | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
Meshanko | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Vietmeyer | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Perine | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
TOTALS | 13-34 | 19-25 | 50 | 21 | 6 | |
Threes: Fee 4-5, Connolly 1-1, Royle 0-1, Kenefick 0-1, Plater 0-1 | ||||||
T.C. WILLIAMS | FG | FT | TP | RB | AST | |
BATES | 4-8 | 0-0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | |
ROBERTS | 1-9 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | |
LEVENBERRY | 0-3 | 2-2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | |
PALACIO | 0-4 | 4-4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
CRENSHAW | 9-14 | 0-1 | 19 | 4 | 2 | |
#3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
Gambrell | 1-7 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
E. Levenberry | 0-6 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Copeland | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
Stockton | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Papke | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
TOTALS | 17-57 | 7-11 | 44 | 31 | 8 | |
Threes: Crenshaw 1-1, Bates 2-4, Roberts 0-1, Papke 0-1, Palacio 0-3 |