Wednesday night at home Hayfield moved one step further toward a state tournament berth, defeating Woodson 57-40 in an Occoquan Regional Quarterfinal.
The win propelled Hayfield into the semis and a date with West Potomac on Friday night. The winner of that game will advance to the Occoquan Championship and clinch a spot in the Class 6 State Tournament.
Woodson came out determined to give Hayfield all it had. An aggressive zone defense gave the Hawks trouble, as Cavaliers defenders swarmed Hayfield ball-handlers. Late in the first quarter Woodson led 10-9, and seemed to be playing exactly the type of game it needed to in order to pull the upset.
However, Hayfield junior guard Mariah Overton buried a three-pointer near the end of the quarter, and the Hawks came out a different team after the quarter break. They outscored Woodson 18-6 in the second quarter, firing on all cylinders offensively and defensively.
On offense, senior stretch four Eva Philips started to get hot, scoring 10 points in the quarter. On defense, Overton applied pressure at the top of the defense, while senior guard Alexis Cox racked up steals playing the passing lanes. Up 30-16 at half, Hayfield would never allow Woodson to get within single digits again.
“The second quarter our defense was solid,” said Hayfield Coach Adam Brown, who is in his first year as varsity head coach at Hayfield. “They delivered tonight, they delivered on defense, they talked–in fact, they made a couple of adjustments that I didn’t have to tell them to do.”
“Alexis and Mariah were talking to the girls and they were doing their own thing, so their basketball I.Q. was on fire tonight.”
Philips hit five three-pointers on the evening, and finished with 21 points. Cox added 13 points and Overton 12. The Hawks played six players substantial minutes on the night, with each one registering at least one assist. Overton led the way in that department with five.
It was a big night for Hawks senior forward Madison Davis. Davis had 10 rebounds and registered her 1,000th career rebound in the third quarter. The game was briefly stopped to honor Davis and her accomplishment.
Davis’ post defense and work on the boards was essential to success against the Cavaliers’ imposing front line: seniors Tazzy Alvarez and Isabel Conklin. Alvarez finished with eight points and 19 rebounds, while Conklin finished her high school career with 24 points and nine rebounds. Those two did what they could, but the Cavs (14-10) hit zero three-pointers on the evening, making their production inside all the hard-earned.
“Maddie did well, she defended 34 [Alvarez] which is a tough assignment,” Brown said. “She doesn’t have a problem doing the dirty work, she sacrifices her body. She rebounds–she’s a phenomenal player.”
Now on Friday West Potomac (20-5), which finished above Woodson in the Patriot District standings, represents an even sterner test for the Hawks (25-2).
“It doesn’t get any easier,” said Brown, when asked what his team needs to do to advance past West Potomac. “We respect West Potomac, we know that they’re a quality squad.”
“If we play our defense, our defense, we should be all right. Tonight we had a good shooting night, too, we have to hope that sticks with us.”
–Chris Jollay