The South County Stallions came into Friday night’s game at W.T. Woodson in last place in the Patriot District standings. They left thinking that when they are firing on all cylinders, no one can stop them.
In a statement win, the Stallions shot 58% from the field and got solid performances on both offense and defense from their entire rotation, defeating the Cavaliers 76-55.
Stallions coach Nikki Woody said it was by far her team’s best performance of the year.
“When they decide to have good chemistry with each other and trust, I think they’re unstoppable,” Woody said.
It was close in the first quarter until the Stallions got a huge spark from one of their reserves. Junior Talia Astorga came into the game and immediately got red-hot, burying four three-pointers and scoring 16 first half points.
“We knew she could do this kind of thing,” said Woody of her tall forward, who has flashed the ability to be dominant in Fall League and elsewhere. “We expected her to be able to do it, but we told her they [Woodson] won’t. So just go do it.”
Astorga was the difference as South County took a 40-24 halftime lead. However, Woodson adjusted and paid more defensive attention to her in the second half. Astorga couldn’t get her shot as easily, but that’s when other Stallions stepped up.
Woody’s guards were able to continuously penetrate the lane in the second half. There they often delivered the ball to junior Leila Carter sealing her defender down low on the block, or freshman guard Laila Tull streaking to the basket. The Leila and Laila show combined for 27 second half points to give the Stallions more than enough to coast to victory.
It was a surprising defeat for the Cavaliers (3-7, 5-12), who were coming off a 19-point victory over Fairfax. Woodson did get some good performances themselves to occasionally pull within striking distance of SoCo. Junior Sabina Niedrick matched Astorga with four three-pointers on the evening and finished with 17 points. Sophomore Emma Komaily, although harassed by the Stallion defense all night, finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Tull led South County (2-8, 4-13) with 22 points, while Astorga finished with 19 and Carter 17. The Stallions that weren’t scoring made up for it with their defense, rebounding, and passing.
It was a crazy night in the powerful Patriot District, where first place Robinson lost its first district game and the last place team proved it was still capable of dominating opponents. It showed that the second half of the district slate could be markedly different than the first half, and upsets were definitely a possibility in the district tournament.
“The second half of the season is what I’m excited for,” said Woody.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| SOUTH COUNTY | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| CARTER | 8-10 | 1-4 | 17 | 8 | 0 | |
| TULL | 9-13 | 4-6 | 22 | 8 | 2 | |
| GREEN | 2-2 | 0-1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | |
| MILLS | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | |
| UNPINGCO | 3-9 | 2-4 | 8 | 2 | 4 | |
| Frazier | 0-1 | 0-3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Astorga | 7-13 | 1-2 | 19 | 7 | 0 | |
| #1 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| TOTALS | 32-55 | 8-21 | 76 | 37 | 17 | |
| Threes: Astorga 4-6, Unpingco 0-3 | ||||||
| W.T. WOODSON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| SWAMINA-THAN | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| MADISON | 2-4 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
| KOMAILY | 3-15 | 4-6 | 11 | 6 | 5 | |
| CHANG | 2-5 | 2-5 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| GODLOVE | 4-7 | 2-4 | 10 | 3 | 0 | |
| Niedrick | 6-12 | 1-3 | 17 | 2 | 4 | |
| Oleyar | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Ramos-Diggs | 0-1 | 3-4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Acchione | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 17-49 | 15-28 | 55 | 24 | 12 | |
| Threes: Niedrick 4-8, Chang 1-2, Komaily 1-6 | ||||||