Gameday Notebook: February 15
Dulles District tourney kicks off Friday.
Hornets, Cougars Finish Unbeaten In District
The Herndon boys and Oakton girls basketball teams completed undefeated regular seasons in Concorde District play last week, and as a result earned byes into Friday's district tournament semifinals.
The Hornets (18-2 overall, 12-0 district) have not lost to a district opponent since dropping a 62-54 decision to Westfield in the 2005 district final and will be looking for their third district championship in four seasons this weekend. Herndon, which lost state player of the year Scottie Reynolds to graduation but has not missed a beat under coach Gary Hall this winter, will face Robinson (11-10) in the district semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Hornets, which won the Northern Region title a year ago and advanced to the Group AAA state championship game, are led by 6-foot-6-inch senior forward Danny Jones, who enters the postseason averaging 16.4 points per game.
The Oakton girls (21-1, 12-0), meanwhile, breezed through the district's regular season schedule behind All-American candidate Jasmine Thomas. The Cougars, who face Herndon in Friday's semifinals, are seeking their third straight district championship and their ninth title in coach Fred Priester's 13 seasons at the school.
Oakton, which has lost just one regular season district game over the past four seasons, are poised to make a deep postseason run behind Thomas, the three-time region player of the year whose 25.8 points per game ranks second in the region behind T.C. Williams' Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (26.2).
Weather Forces Hoops Shuffling
The snowstorm that hit the area this week forced local school officials to reschedule numerous district tournament games.
In the Group AA Dulles District, the quarterfinal round was pushed back to Friday, where all games will be played at the higher seed. The boys semifinal games will be played in a doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m. at Freedom on Saturday, with the girls semifinal games slated to begin at 6 p.m. at Briar Woods that same night. The championship games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Monday night at Freedom.
In the Group AAA Concorde District, the girls and boys semifinals will be hosted by Robinson on Friday. The top-seeded Oakton girls will play Herndon at 3:30 p.m., the No. 2 seed Westfield girls will play Chantilly at 5:15 p.m., the top-seeded Herndon boys will play Robinson at 7 p.m. and the No. 2 seed Westfield boys will play Chantilly at 8:45 p.m. The championship games are scheduled to be held at Robinson beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Spring Practice Begins Monday
Monday marks the first day spring sports teams are able to begin tryouts and practice, per the Virginia High School League (VHSL) rules. The spring is the busiest time of the year for prep sports in the state, with baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse and track and field all being in-season.
Panthers Edge County For Gymnastics Title
The Potomac Falls girls gymnastics team captured the Dulles District championship last week with an overall team score of 138.650, just 7.425 points more than runner-up Loudoun County.
Heritage placed third with 119.750, followed by Broad Run (119.474), Park View (104.60), Freedom (103.825), Briar Woods (40.150) and Dominion (35.125).
The Panthers' Jenna Padilla took the all-around title at the meet, scoring a 37.075. Loudoun County's Caitlin Cavanaugh (35.125) was second, followed by Potomac Falls teammates Sara Jones (34.250) and Emily Pasko (33.750).
