Batchelor's Defense Propels Northwest Girls to Tournament Final

Carla Batchelor bent over at the waist near halfcourt, placed her hands on her knees and stared at the floor. The Northwest junior was short of breath in the final minute of Monday's game against Westminster, but the energy she had expended on defense helped breathe life into the slow-starting Jaguars.

Batchelor had a hand in several Northwest defensive stops, including a steal and score late in the fourth quarter, and the Northwest girls basketball team defeated Westminster 59-47 in the opening round of the Sugarloaf Shootout at Poolesville High School. Northwest (4-4) will face the winner of Quince Orchard and Poolesville in the championship game at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"My chest hurts really bad," a fatigued Batchelor said after Monday's contest, "but I'll live."

Batchelor scored on a put-back to give Northwest a 53-47 lead with 1:50 remaining in the fourth. After committing her fourth foul, Batchelor stole the ball in the backcourt and scored to give the Jaguars a 55-47 advantage. Northwest outscored Westminster 8-0 during the final 2 minutes, 18 seconds to secure its fourth win in five games after a 0-3 start.

The Jaguars fell behind early, trailing by as many as six points in the opening quarter. Northwest bounced back in the second period, outscoring Westminster 14-0 during the final 4:03 of the first half. Batchelor stole the ball and scored on a layup to put Northwest ahead by eight with 1:49 remaining in the second. Moments later, she came up with another steal and passed to Katelyn Porter who scored in transition to give the Jaguars a 31-21 halftime advantage. Northwest led the entire second half.

"I think [Batchelor] has knack for the ball," Northwest head coach Robert Smith said. "… I think [defense] is what kept us in the game --- it usually does. When we play good defense, usually it transpires into steals and our transition offense."

Batchelor finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Smith said freshman Kendra Meredith also played well defensively.

Northwest trailed 14-9 after the first quarter and 21-17 midway through the second before swinging momentum in its favor. The Jaguars forced seven turnovers in the second period and outscored the Owls 22-7. Senior post Danielle Garroutte scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in the quarter en route to a 13-point, eight-rebound effort.

Northwest finished with a 33-24 rebounding advantage.

"We started off a little slow tonight, but after the first quarter something just clicked and we just decided it was time to get our heads into it," Garroutte said. "Everyone just started rebounding a lot better and the defense picked up."

Garroutte, who signed to play at Slippery Rock University, spends most offensive possessions around the basket, but the 6-footer knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:48 remaining in the first half to give the Jaguars a 25-21 lead.

"That's one thing that I worked on a lot the past year is developing a perimeter shot," she said. "Whenever I get the opportunity I just love to shoot the 3."

Porter finished with 16 points for Northwest and Camry Torian added seven.

Alyssa Semones led Westminster with 15 points and Jane Sussman finished with 12. Sussman knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the Owls within two at 47-45 with 4:13 remaining in the fourth, but Westminster got no closer.