The four-time defending state champion Madison Warhawks are rounding into form.
Another state title in a loaded Virginia Class 6 field is a tall ask, but at the very least the Warhawks are starting to look like a team no one will want to play in February. They just know how to win, and that’s just what they did Wednesday night at home against Concorde District rival Oakton, 44-43.
Seniors Lillian Perkins and Stella Gougoufkas did a lot of the heavy lifting, their experience proving invaluable in the win. Perkins was impressive on offense, scoring 16 points on efficient shooting, and Gougoufkas was a force down the stretch, getting a key steal and hitting two free throws. She also delivered key assists to Perkins and Avery Griepentrog late.
“I feel like ever since district play started we’ve come together as a team,” said Gougoufkas, who will play college ball at Holy Cross next year. “We’re playing strong basketball and we’re playing together. I think we struggled at the beginning of the year because we had a lot of new members on the team.”
The Warhawks started the season 4-8 due to that and many other factors. They played their usual challenging schedule, plus Gougoufkas missed a few weeks due to illness. Now, Madison is in sole possession of second place in the always-challenging Concorde, a game behind Centreville.
Even with the Warhawks playing better, Wednesday night was a challenge. The Warhawks led most of the first half, but a strong third quarter by Oakton gave the Cougars the lead after three, 33-30. Oakton led for much of the fourth quarter as well, until Gougoufkas asserted herself late with her fellow seniors, Perkins and Griepentrog.
“I feel like we’re really good friends off the court so we really have that connection,” said Gougoufkas of her looks to her teammates late. “It really does translate on the court in those big moments, we tend to find each other a lot.”
Even so, and with Madison up 44-41 late, Oakton had its chances. With under a minute left Cougars senior Finley Tarr hit two free throws to make it 44-43. Then, Oakton junior Bailey Zimmerman tied up the ball on defense to give possession back to the Cougars. Tarr, who had buried her last two three-pointers, then missed a three-pointer in the corner, but teammate Brooke Chang tracked down the rebound. The Cougars called a time out with 6.8 seconds left with another opportunity to take the lead.
Madison’s defense got a tie up with under two seconds left and the Warhawks gained possession, but still Oakton was not done. An immediate turnover on the in-bounds pass gave Oakton sophomore Sophie Toole an off-balance attempt at a game-winning three-pointer, but the shot was offline. Madison had escaped with the win.
Madison’s seniors provided 36 of the Warhawks’ 44 points, but Madison (3-1, 7-9) also got key contributions off the bench from sophomore guard Jada Ramos-Diggs and junior guard Ava Wu. Wu had two three-pointers, while Ramos-Diggs provided a key fourth quarter basket and four assists overall.
Oakton (1-2, 12-3) was led by Tarr and Toole, who finished with 12 points each. Tarr scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, while Toole also distinguished herself running the point, harassing Gougoufkas on defense, and grabbing seven rebounds.
The win was Madison’s tenth straight regular season win over their Vienna rivals. And while Madison still has a lot of work to do and still needed some breaks to defeat the Cougars, things are once again trending upward for Gougoufkas and the Warhawks.
“I’m a four-year member of this team, and I want to show everyone how its done and how we play Madison basketball,” she said.
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
| MADISON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| PERKINS | 6-10 | 2-2 | 16 | 0 | 1 | |
| BECKER | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| GRIEPENTROG | 2-5 | 2-2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| LOZIER | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| GOUGOUFKAS | 3-8 | 6-8 | 12 | 6 | 4 | |
| Ramos-Diggs | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| Mathis | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| Wang | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wu | 2-5 | 0-0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 15-34 | 10-12 | 44 | 22 | 10 | |
| Threes: Wu 2-3, Perkins 2-4, Griepentrog 0-1, Gougoufkas 0-4 | ||||||
| OAKTON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| SHANNON | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| TARR | 3-10 | 4-4 | 12 | 2 | 2 | |
| TOOLE | 4-18 | 3-4 | 12 | 7 | 3 | |
| CHANG | 4-9 | 1-2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | |
| ZIMMERMAN | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Kinlaw | 3-5 | 1-3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ally | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 15-48 | 9-13 | 43 | 20 | 7 | |
| Threes: Tarr 2-5, Chang 1-4, Toole 1-7, Zimmerman 0-1, Ally 0-1, Shannon 0-3 | ||||||