It was Senior Night at Robinson Friday, as the Rams honored their five seniors before the game versus Patriot District rival Lake Braddock. The ceremony was nice, but the start of the game wasn’t for Robinson, as the visiting Bruins took an early 7-0 lead.
The Rams’ seniors are quality players though, and they weren’t about to let their night be ruined. The five, with help from sophomore London Augustin, upped their intensity and outscored the Bruins 42-19 over the final three periods to get the win.
“I think the energy [of the night] overall kind of made us stressed out,” said senior guard Madison Coutinho, a four-year varsity player. “When we got the hang of it…we put the pieces back together.”
Robinson (4-2, 8-6) has had an inconsistent season so far against a tough schedule, but has also shown it can still beat some of the tougher teams in the area. This year is their first without post warrior Georgia Simonsen, who graduated last year and is playing at Radford.
“Kind of our lack of post presence intimidates us at the start of every game,” said senior Parker Lowden. “But we learn to adjust and play good post defense and then throughout the game, mostly in the second half, we start to find our groove and implement what we practice.”
Down 7-0, the Rams also got a boost when Augustin checked in. The guard immediately got a steal and a bucket, and added another steal plus an offensive rebound just a few seconds later. It wasn’t just Augustin, though–the Rams just ratcheted up their defensive intensity in general. On the night Robinson forced 33 Lake Braddock turnovers.
“Our program focuses on defense, really emphasizes it,” said Coutinho. “We get constant reminders throughout the game, top shoulder defense, be in help defense. But when the score gets close, we know we need to focus on defense, and then the offense will come.”
The offense certainly did come. Augustin and senior Lanise Dixon ended up leading the Rams in scoring with 11 points apiece. Dixon was particularly effective at drawing fouls and getting to the line. Senior Sara Abdi had ten points with seven coming after halftime, while Coutinho finished with eight. Lowden’s six points all came after halftime, when the Rams expanded their 20-16 halftime advantage.
Lake Braddock (3-3, 7-8) didn’t buckle, keeping it close most of the way until the fourth quarter. Pacey Magnuson scored 12 points to pace the Bruins attack, but her team turned the ball over too many times to pull the upset.
This was Robinson’s night, in more ways than one.
“I’ve been here three years, so being a senior and coming out to win, it’s very fun,” said Dixon. “It’s very exciting to win tonight with my teammates.”
–Chris Jollay