Lady Raiders Claim First State Championship
The Loudoun County Lady Raiders won their first state championship in school history with a 63-47 win over Turner Ashby on Saturday. Kevin Reed's club finished the year playing their best basketball, and dominated their competition.
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Loudoun County's Kevin Reed looks on as his team closes in on its first state championship win. The Raiders won the game 63-47 against Turner Ashby.
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Sophomore Brittany Batts goes strong to the hoop in the 2nd half of the State Championship game. Batts finished with another strong performance, scoring 9 points in the win.
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
RICHMOND, VA - Back in the fall of 2008, Loudoun County basketball coach Kevin Reed joined the Gameday Radio Network as a high school football analyst. Yes, that may sound strange for a hoops guy to be calling football games, but in fact Reed was so good at it, he won the Newcomer of the Year award at our annual All Gameday Banquet.
Reed couldn't be there to accept his trophy though, because he was too busy chasing another one with his Lady Raiders on the basketball court. At the time, he and I exchanged some phone calls and he was cautiously optimistic about his team's chances at a Dulles District title.
At no time did Reed claim his team comprised of only one senior and mostly freshmen and sophomores was a team of destiny, but you could hear in his voice that he believed there was something special about them.
While the attention was split in Loudoun County between the Lady Raiders and the Freedom Eagles, we paid close attention to how Reed's team developed during the year, because the veteran coach had a reputation for getting his team to play at a high level come tournament time.
Indeed Loudoun County began to click, but it wasn't until a tough loss in the Dulles District tournament that they started to grow up on the court together.
"Even though we were winning, we hadn't matured yet," said Reed. "Our girls would celebrate after a win and I was at home pulling my hair out because I knew we weren't there yet."
Reed wasn't worried about the hustle on the court, nor the intensity at practice. That was all fine. The Lady Raiders were playing good basketball, but Reed saw something more in this group. He knew they needed to step up their focus with the tournament approaching.
Reed has never been one to hide his emotions on the basketball court. In fact he is one of the most intense coaches you'll find on Gameday. Even when his team is up by 20 points, he is always coaching.
So while his Lady Raiders were closing in on another twenty win season, Reed started to go to work on the psyche of his leaders.
"I knew that we were young and I wasn't sure if I could get them to fully buy into what I was saying," Reed said. "I called some in to talk one on one, and then after a while, I called some of them out in front of the team to see what would work. I needed to get them to listen to me, and to take things a little more serious than what they were at the time."
Just before the Dulles District tournament, Reed noticed something different in junior Alissa Kain.
"It was like a switch turned on with her," Reed said. "By the end of our season, there was no better player on the court."
Kain tallied 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 68-57 win over Heritage, and while it was a career high, her best was yet to come.
After a close loss to Freedom in the Dulles District final, Kain turned it on again in the opening round of regional play, scoring 25 against Orange County in late February. The win gave Loudoun County another berth in the regional finals, and the state tournament.
In the regional championship game against Charlottesville, the Lady Raiders exploded for a 12 point victory behind a career night again from Kain. When the night was finished, Kain had 31 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 three pointers.
At the same time Kain was starting to dominate the headlines, sophomore Brittany Batts was beginning to light it up too. Batts had been the most dangerous three point specialist for the Lady Raiders all year long, but as the state tournament approached, she was becoming nearly unstoppable.
Batts scored 23 points in the win over Orange County, and a pattern was beginning to develop. When teams focused on stopping the Division 4 player of the year Kendra Holmes and senior Kerry Sarver, Kain and Batts crushed them.
In the opening round of the state tournament, the Lady Raiders put it all together, crushing Courtland 90-51. Once again Kain and Batts poured in big numbers scoring 21 and 23 respectively in the blowout win.
In that game, we saw first hand that Reed's team was finally putting it all together. Courtland had been a good team all year long, and when they stepped on the court with County, they looked sadly inferior. After the win, Reed implied he knew something special was brewing too.
"I just told them that now is the time for us to start putting it all together, and that we needed to play at a high level for all four quarters, not just two," said Reed. "The girls got together and just made a point to come out with energy, and they played with high energy all game."
A rematch in the state semifinal with Charlottesville was looming, but Reed appeared more confident than ever that his team wasn't going to be stopped.
Just one week before, County and Charlottesville played in a hard fought game that resulted in a 12 point win for the Raiders. But in that short time span, the Lady Raiders had morphed into a different team, and the Knights were out of the contest in minutes.
Loudoun County forced 29 turnovers in the game, and 20 of them in the first half alone. They led at the end of the 1st quarter 21-5, then 42-14 at the half. Batts scored 18 points in the first half alone, and the Lady Raiders cruised to the state championship game with a 77-45 win.
In attendance and watching closely was Turner Ashby head coach Rob Lovell. His team had beaten Loudoun County early in the regular season, and the veteran coach admitted that they were clearly a different team.
"Loudoun County was certainly better," Lovell said. "They had gotten better and boy they were really playing well in the final four."
Lovell's Knights had won against Hidden Valley to set up a rematch with County in the finals. The Lady Raiders were anxious for the opportunity to play Turner Ashby again, considering they were the only other team beside Freedom that had given them a loss during the season.
"Basketball is about match-ups," Reed said. "Turner Ashby will give us match-up problems, but I really like how Jenna Strange is developing for us. I think we will match-up better than we did the first time around."
Before he left us on the radio, Reed made a prediction that Turner Ashby would win their semifinal, and then he said something that nobody really believed.
"It will be a great game, and it will not be a blowout."
It was typical coach speak from Reed, not wanting to allow his opponent to think he didn't respect them enough. But I doubt highly that anyone listening or watching believed him, I can assure you of that.
We watched Turner Ashby play Hidden Valley, and neither team was playing at the level of the Lady Raiders. They simple didn't have the components to match-up with Kain, Batts, Holmes, Sarver, and Strange.
On the biggest stage Reed's program had ever walked onto, the Lady Raiders came out like many had expected and crushed the spirit of the Turner Ashby Knights early in the game.
At the half, Loudoun County led 36-18, and every starter for the Raiders was putting up good numbers. Holmes had 8, Kain 9, and Batts had 7 to lead the way for County. The most glaring stat was on the other side of the court with Turner Ashby's Nikki Newman.
Newman had scored only 1 point in the first half, and the JMU commit was taken completely out of the game by the Raider defense. Loudoun County couldn't have wished for a better first half, and now all they had to do was just stay aggressive. At the half, Reed challenged his players one more time to buy into what he was saying.
"I told the girls that all we had to do was win the 3rd quarter," Reed said. "I knew that if we won the 3rd quarter, they couldn't win the game."
As expected, Turner Ashby did respond with a better second half, led by Kirby Burkholder. The junior helped the Knights pull closer, but Kain and the Raiders kept pace. The 3rd quarter scoring ended with County scoring 19, and Turner Ashby 11.
The Raiders led 55-29 with 8 minutes standing in the way of their first state championship.
With the game in hand, the Raiders started to relax some on their aggressiveness. However, Raider point guard Kerry Sarver started to play harder. As the only senior on the roster, Sarver knew that her time as a Loudoun County basketball player was running out.
Several times in the final period, Sarver laid out to save a pass, and scrambled on the floor diving for a loose ball. She had won two state championships with the County Volleyball team over the past two school years, and she was minutes away from a 3rd.
What became obvious to those watching the game was that Sarver was the glue that held the team together. Reed has always been the face of the Lady Raiders, but he wasn't the only one now, and he was ok with that.
"Kerry is the coach of the year as well, as my lone senior," said Reed.
While Sarver didn't light up the scoreboard each night this season, her defensive presence and her ability to start the transition game was crucial to setting up the big performances from Kain, Batts, and Holmes.
The other players looked to her to set the tone, and in every game, she delivered. As Loudoun County closed out the final seconds against Turner Ashby, Sarver received a standing ovation from the crowd as she exited the game.
It was a touching moment, one that brought tears to the eyes of her coach Kevin Reed. Thousands of people, including us at the radio booth, watched as Reed and his favorite senior shared an emotional hug.
Those are the moments that make high school sports so special.
As the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard, the Lady Raiders stormed the court as state champions, winning 63-47.
After the game, Reed brought a tearful group of happy Lady Raiders into the press room to meet the media. Reed himself was emotional right from the start. In his opening statement, the outgoing and sometimes boisterous coach was lost for words as he tried to discuss his team's performance.
"You know, it all starts at the top," said Reed. "It starts with Kerry Sarver. Our senior leader is a phenomenal player, and an even more phenomenal person. It took some time for these girls to bond. It was a long process, and it was not an easy process for us. But in the end, we faced some adversity, and adversity always builds character. The girls came together and they are united, and because of that we are champions tonight."
By season's end, few would argue that Loudoun County wasn't playing the best basketball of anyone in the state. We noticed it, and so did their opposition. Loudoun County outscored their opponents 379 to 248 in their final 5 games.
It was a proud day for Reed, who started coaching the Loudoun County basketball program earlier in this decade. The Raider program has been like another child to him. He's nurtured it, and built it into a perennial title contender. Reed set the bar higher and higher each year, and on March 14th, 2009, his program reached the top of the mountain.
No coach will admit that they need a state championship to validate their career. Reed was no different. But like most do after they claim their first one, Reed divulged his true feelings.
"We all have egos," said Reed. "Any coach that says they don't have an ego is lying. If you want to be the best, then you strive to do that. Early in my career I wanted to establish myself, and you do that by winning games. Personally it is great, but it is even greater when you know you have a great group of people, and they get to experience something that I have never been able to experience before too."
As the press conference came to a conclusion, Reed smiled and said one last thing.
"We got one Andy! You told me we needed to get one, and we got one."
Yes you did coach, and you deserve it!
On behalf of the Gameday staff, we'd like to congratulate the Loudoun County Lady Raiders on winning their first state championship. We've enjoyed covering your games all the way to the finals. You've all made us proud to be from Loudoun County!
Sarver Breaks Another Record:
After the rest of the media left the room, Reed took a look at the official stat sheet and realized something else. Kerry Sarver entered the state championship game needing just 4 assists to become the all-time leader in assists for Loudoun County basketball. With Sarver still in the room, Reed gave his senior the impression that she had fallen short, and then said he was only kidding.
Sarver was so excited she jumped up in the air and gave Reed a big hug. She finished her career with 399 assists, one better than her sister Amy who held the previous record with 398.
