The Robinson girls basketball team defeated W.T Woodson 49-38 in the 6C Regional Championship to win their 12th straight game and third consecutive regional title.
The Rams (25-2) were led by the Patriot District Player of the Year, Georgia Simonsen, who recorded a double-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals. Robinson Head Coach TJ Dade emphasized that Simonsen is a key part of their game, but the entire team’s effort is what makes the Rams so successful.
“She’s our staple but she can’t do it alone,” Coach Dade said. “Everybody plays a part. It’s nice having a dominant player like Georgia, she’s a dominant post player. She draws double, and triple teams. But it’s nicer also having kids that can complement them.”
Simonsen also earned Occoquan Region First Team honors and the Regional Player of the Year award.
“It feels great, it’s really exciting to win three times,” Simonsen said with a smile.
The Rams were also led by senior forward Elizabeth Barry, who had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
“It feels really good,” Barry said. “A lot of people thought that we wouldn’t be able to do it again this year, so proving them wrong is great.”
Woodson (16-11) was led by senior guard Sabina Niedrick, who recorded 12 points, and four rebounds. Niedrick also earned first team all-regional honors, to add onto her first team all-district recognition.
The Rams got out to an early lead as Simonsen started strong with six points and five rebounds in the first quarter. Robinson led 12-6 heading into the second quarter.
“I think there’s an expectation to win with us and that’s a big part of our mindset going into games,” Barry said.
The Cavaliers began the 2nd quarter on an 11-2 run, as they attacked the rim and earned four trips to the foul line and sank open shots. Robinson was able to slow the run, but would still trail Woodson 22-20 heading into the half.
“They’re a very good, well-coached team,” Coach Dade said. “They have a couple kids who can knock the three down, and our goal coming in was to try to limit their touches and not allow them space. And the couple they got off – we gave them space. We knew it was going to be a heavyweight bout. They trap a lot out of their zones, which gave us some issues.”
Robinson retook the lead early in the third quarter, and finally gained some separation at the end of the quarter as the Rams ended the third period on a 10-3 run. Dade’s team led 37-32 heading into the final period.
“Being patient got us what we wanted on the inside,” Barry said. “We weren’t great from the outside tonight, but we were finding things that worked on offense.”
The Rams were able to hold the Cavaliers scoreless through the last four minutes of the fourth quarter, to help eventually secure the 49-38 win.
“Defense is the main factor of our game,” Simonsen said. “Every time we get a defensive stop it energizes our team. We knew that if we played good defense, we’d get steals and it would feed into our offense.”
Barry explained that the team plays so well together because their bond is strong both on and off the court.
“I think our chemistry is awesome, Barry said. “We’re all best friends outside of the court – I love them so much.”
–TJ Davis
@Ttown316