It wasn’t a playoff game. It wasn’t a rivalry game. It wasn’t even a district game Wednesday night against Herndon. But it was a game Kesha Walton’s T.C. Williams squad wanted to win badly nonetheless, That they did, in convincing fashion by a final score of 67-48.
“Who our opponent was tonight definitely was motivation for the girls,” Walton said after the game. “We came into tonight to some as the underdog, and we wanted to prove that we weren’t the underdog.”
We’re not sure the Titans (12-2) were actually underdogs, but there’s no question they were facing a formidable challenge in the talented Hornets. They answered the challenge, firing on all cylinders and forging to a double-digit lead by halftime. Danielle Levenberry was big in the middle for the Titans in the first half, scoring 12 points and hauling in four rebounds. She and sister Elise controlled the paint and made it hard for Herndon to attack the rim, also sparking the Titans’ transition game after defensive rebounds.
Danielle didn’t have as much impact in the second half, but unfortunately for the Hornets her sister did. Elise scored ten points after halftime, again controlling the middle with her sister and giving her team an advantage on the boards. The pair exacted a physical toll on the Hornets, perhaps a little fatigued already from playing a talented Langley team the night before.
“They dominated,” coach Walton said when asked about the sisters’ performance. “That was part of our game plan to utilize their styles tonight, we knew they would be key.”
They were key, combining for 26 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists overall. Junior guard Trinity Palacio, the Titans’ leading scorer, came up big as well, contributing 20 points and seven rebounds. At the end of the first half with her team up 34-25 and just under two minutes left on the clock, Palacio held the ball while Herndon sagged in a zone. Almost a minute later, Palacio calmly dribbled a few times in front of the zone and hit a three-pointer from up high. The Titans were well on their way to victory.
It was that kind of evening for Herndon (10-2). Star guard and St. Joseph’s commit Devyne Newman found it hard to get untracked and T.C. swarmed at her with an effective zone. Newman finished with 11 points but everything was hard-earned. Center Taylor Strawser, working her way back from an injury suffered in the offseason, had 11 points and six rebounds but had to leave the game after suffering a cut to her face. The Titans brought a lot of physicality and on this particular night the Hornets couldn’t handle it.
We’re not sure who is going to be able to handle it around here, frankly.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| T.C. WILLIAMS | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| WALKER | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| BATES | 1-4 | 6-7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | |
| PALACIO | 7-13 | 3-3 | 20 | 7 | 2 | |
| D.LEVENBERRY | 6-8 | 0-1 | 12 | 5 | 1 | |
| E.LEVENBERRY | 5-7 | 4-6 | 14 | 8 | 4 | |
| Carroll | 2-6 | 2-2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | |
| Papke | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| Fadika | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Mobley | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 24-48 | 15-19 | 67 | 29 | 11 | |
| Threes: Palacio 3-4, Papke 1-4, Bates 0-1, Carroll 0-1, Mobley 0-1 | ||||||
| HERNDON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| BRUNSON | 2-2 | 2-2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| KIMBLE | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| ANANE | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| STRAWSER | 5-10 | 1-4 | 11 | 6 | 1 | |
| NEWMAN | 4-13 | 3-9 | 11 | 2 | 3 | |
| Owen | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Johnson | 1-1 | 2-2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Koch | 1-1 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Montalban | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Pearson | 1-3 | 2-2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| Boulware | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hinders | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 17-37 | 12-22 | 48 | 18 | 7 | |
| Threes: Brunson 1-1, Koch 1-1, Kimble 0-1, Strawser 0-2, Pearson 0-2 | ||||||