By Angela Watts
Senior Content Editor, DigitalSports.com
(Look below the story to
find two separate video players — one with highlights from each
Liberty District championship game.)
Madison senior Marygrace Jay, holding the Warhawks’ trophy in one hand and her piece of the net in the other, described herself as being the “happiest girl in the world” after leading Madison to a 46-32 victory over a feisty Langley team in the Liberty District title game Saturday night at South Lakes.
Langley senior Ryan Davenport, grinning broadly, took a deep breath before summing up the Saxons’ 55-34 victory over upstart McLean in the second half of Saturday’s championship double-header in a single word: “Awesome.”
He then climbed up the same ladder that the Warhawks had used for their ceremonial net-cutting to get his piece of the action.
The ritual celebrations and shared excitement weren’t all that Jay and Davenport — crowned the Liberty District tournament MVPs — had in common Saturday night. Both players credited their teammates’ stingy defense as being the key to victory.
The Warharwks outscored the Saxons 11-0 in the first quarter of the girls’ championship game. Then, after weathering a spirited run over the second and third quarters, clamped down again in the final period. Madison held Langley to just three points over the final eight minutes of play, turning what had been a 29-29 tie at the end of three quarters into a 14-point victory.
It helped that Jay, who was forced to sit the final 4 minutes, 8 seconds of the third quarter after picking up her fourth foul, was able to play the entire fourth quarter without picking up her fifth — and final — foul.
“The whole time out there all I was thinking was,
‘Don’t foul!’ ” said the 6-foot, 3-inch Jay. “But my teammates really
helped me. They were on their people and so I didn’t have to go help
out on defense. They had my back, and so I didn’t have to foul.”
Jay led all scorers with 16 points, eight of which she scored in the final period, while junior forward Danielle Landry and senior guard Katie Wimmer added 10 and nine points, respectively.
Langley freshman center Audrey Dotson paced the Saxons with a team-high 13 points, but was scoreless in the final period.
“It was tough trying to decide when to get [Jay] back in there, but I really felt like her presence in the fourth quarter was important,” Madison Coach Denise Weinig said. “She draws so much attention out there, and that opens up other things for us. And she did a much better job deciding defensively when to go for the ball.
“It’s tempting for her to be too aggressive sometimes. She doesn’t realize that just by putting her 6-foot-3 hands up, how tall that makes her and that that is enough to deter someone from taking a shot.”
The Langley boys’ team was similarly stifling in its defensive attack, holding McLean to single digits in points in each of the first three quarters. As a result, the Saxons lead steadily grew throughout the game. Langley led by 11 points after one quarter, 12 at half time, 16 at the end of three and won by 21.
Langley rotated several different players in its defensive scheme, including juniors Derek Baker, Alex Devlin and Barrett Hunter, to hold Highlander senior Tarek Ammoury, the Liberty District Player of the Year, to just eight points.
“That’s the reason we won the game,” Langley Coach Travis Hess said. “He’s the thing that makes them go. And if we could hold their best player to under 10 points when he’s been scoring 20-some in this tournament, that’s the reason we won the game.”
Senior forward Ahmed Malik and Davenport led the Saxons on the offensive end, scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively.
“It wasn’t one of our best offensive nights, but we were still able to win the game on defense, and that was great,” Davenport said. “I think a lot of people would be surprised that we could win games on defense this time of year. A lot of people knew we had the offense, but we’re proving that we can play well on the defensive end, too, and that’s what won a championship for us here tonight.
“I can’t even describe how good it feels. I transfered back here from a private school three years ago, the same year that Coach Hess was hired. And we sat there, three years ago, saying that we were going to win the district championship my senior year. We thought we’d have the horses to do it, and we did. And it’s been so much fun.”
Added Hess: “I didn’t think it would be easy, and you never know what’s going to happen in the district. But we though that if we worked and got better … that we could have a team in three years that could win the district. We had a three-year plan of just getting better and teaching the kids how to win, and we did. And tonight it paid off.”
Now both the Saxons and Warhawks, who will host first-round games in the upcoming Northern Region tournament that begins Monday, must turn their attention to a new goal.
“I could definitely go for some more net,” Jay said, proudly waiving her prize piece. “I could go for another trophy, too.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
GIRLS’ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
No. 10 Langley 0 15 14 3 — 32
No. 3 Madison 11 6 12 17 — 46
Langley — Hansan 1 0-0 2; Warrick 2 0-0 4; Kody 3 0-0 7; Shea 1 2-2 4; Dotson 5 3-5 13; Benson 0 2-4 2. Team totals: 12 7-11 32. Madison — Suprise 1 1-2 3; Stiegler 4 0-0 8; Jay 7 2-3 16; Landry 5 0-1 10; Wimmer 3 2-4 9. Team totals: 20 5-10 46. Three-pointers — Langley 1 (Kody); Madison 1 (Landry).
All-Tournament Team
Langley Fr. C Audrey Dotson; Woodson Sr. C Sarah Schoof; Madison Sr. G
Leah Stiegler; Langley Jr. F Rachel Warrick; Madison Sr. G/F Katie
Wimmer. Tournament MVP: Madison Sr. F Marygrace Jay.
BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
McLean 6 8 7 13 — 34
No. 5 Langley 17 9 11 18 — 55
McLean — Brosnan 1 0-0 2; Russomanno 4
1-2 11; Baruch 2 1-1 5; Love 1 0-0 3; Kanellias 2 0-0 4; Fitzgerald 0
1-2 1; Ammoury 3 2-3 8. Team totals: 13 4-7 34. Langley —
Hunter 2 2-3 6; Baker 2 2-4 6; Pritchett 1 0-1 2; Davenport 5 5-7 16;
Popps 0 2-2 2; Malik 8 0-0 17; Kody 2 1-2 6. Team totals: 20 12-19 55. Three-pointers — McLean 4 (Russomanno 2, Baruch, Love); Langley 3 (Davenport, Kody, Malik).
All-Tournament Team
McLean Sr. G/F Tarek Ammoury; Langley Jr. F Derek Baker; McLean Sr. G Peter Kanellias; Langley Sr. F Ahmed Malik; Madison Jr. G Omi Ogolo. Tournament MVP: Langley Sr. G Ryan Davenport.
Processing your request, Please wait....
