Trailing by seven points with a minute remaining in the first half, the T.C. Williams girls basketball team was on the verge of heading to halftime with a reasonable deficit against Centreville.
Then the Wildcats blinked and T.C. Williams’ Jasmine Norman and Lauren Moss both made 3-pointers in the final minute to close the Wildcats’ lead to just one point.
That short spark woke up the Titans and gave them the momentum to defeat Centreville 50-43 in the first round of the Northern Region tournament on Monday night.
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“They were very important,” T.C. Williams coach Kesha Walton said of the late first-half run. “It got us momentum going and it got us excited and actually cut the deficit that we had.”
The closing minute of the first half loomed large for the Wildcats.
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“It was huge,” Centreville coach Wallace Horton said. “We had a chance to be up nine or 10 and instead we were up by one and they had the ball coming in and scored and never looked back.”
Guard Jenna Green paced the Wildcats to their early lead, scoring six points in the first half off two 3-pointers.
With Centreville’s early success, T.C. Williams changed its defensive approach to much success. The Wildcats scored just four points in the third quarter.
“We were getting beat down the floor over and over again,” Walton said. “If it weren’t for them not capitalizing on some layups and turning the ball over, it probably would’ve been a different story.”
The Titans played more aggressive in the second half by showing off a more pressing style of defense. The tactical change resulted in a 19-4 run from the last minute of the second quarter all the way through the middle of the third.
Norman’s second 3-pointer of the game with 2:45 left in the third quarter gave the Titans a 32-24 lead.
Centreville senior forward Taylor O’Hara converted a three-point play to bring the Wildcats within striking distance at 38-33 with 5:45 remaining in the game, but the Titans were too strong defensively to allow easy baskets.
T.C. Williams was led by guards Jasmine Norman (game-high 16 points) and Lauren Moss (14 points). Both had impressive games on the perimeter.
With less that three minutes remaining, Sade Barber (nine points) received a deep outlet pass for a layup to bring the Titans’ lead to 46-37. Centreville senior Erin Meador’s bucket in the post kept the Wildcats’ hopes alive with under a minute remaining, bringing Centreville within five points of T.C. Williams. But turnover from the Wildcats with 47.9 seconds left and two successful free throws by T.C. Williams’ Lauren Moss closed the game.
