After taking their only loss in Patriot District play earlier this month to the Alexandria City Titans, the Robinson Rams took an exciting, competitive rematch Tuesday night 49-35, to take first place in the district.
“All of them are as important as the next,” said Head Coach TJ Dade about the victory and going forward. “This one a little more, because it was our only blemish in the Patriot. And I didn’t think we played particularly well when we lost to them, so we were really geared up for this one.”
It was a defensive showdown early, with nearly every Rams starter notching a steal from a sharp zone press to keep Alexandria City scoreless the first few minutes. The Titans settled down soon though, with guard Amor Harris scoring all of their six points in the first quarter. The backcourt of her and N’jya Hopkins got the offense going more in the second quarter to narrow the Rams lead to just three at the half, and also sparked the Titans defensively with some blocks and steals of their own. Harris finished with 18 points, and Hopkins stuffed the stat sheet with several boards, assists, and a few blocks as well.
The Titans opened up the second half with more defensive intensity and were able to tie the game midway through the third quarter at 20. They then took their first and only lead for a brief moment 22-20, right before junior forward Caroline Shimp reignited the Rams to retake the lead going into the fourth. Robinson never looked back. Shimp scored 7 of her 14 points in the third, and was a force in the paint offensively and defensively.
“She is one of our captains. She leads by example, so the team feeds off of her.” said Dade about Shimp.
Alexandria City definitely had the momentum going its way when the Titans took the lead in the third, but couldn’t keep up once the Rams got going again. Robinson’s frontcourt of Shimp, Georgia Simonsen, and Elizabeth Barry were dominant on the boards and found each other in high-low action against AC’s zone defense all night long.
“They’re [Titans] a very athletic team and they really come at you.” Coach Dade. “They get physical. So I told the kids that we have to stay the course.”
Robinson also received stellar bench production from guard Devon Babcock, who had to step in when starting guard Kristine Pham landed in foul trouble. Babcock, as did fellow junior Amelia Simonsen, pestered and limited Alexandria City’s guards all throughout the second half and was key to keeping the Rams’ foot on the gas as they extended their lead in the fourth.
Robinson (7-1, 13-2), takes first place in the Patriot for now, and will face another district foe in West Potomac on Friday. Alexandria City (6-1, 12-2) will look to regroup immediately when the Titans travel to South County on Wednesday.
–Max Nagle
@MaxWritesHoops