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Tigers taking winning ways through playoffs
After two rounds of the Northwestern District tournament, the Tigers remained perfect.Top-ranked Brentsville District (19-4 overall, 14-0 district) took out fourth-seeded James Wood, 61-48 in Nokesville on Tuesday night in the semi-finals of the district playoffs. Brentsville's win set up a championship match against Millbrook (14-10, 9-5), set for Thursday, Feb. 21.
The third-ranked Millbrook Pioneers upset No. 2 John Handley, 58-51 in Winchester on Tuesday, paving the way for the final district match of the season against the Tigers, who will enter Thursday's game undefeated in district competition.
Brentsville made quick work of its first-round opponent Warren County, 75-24, on Feb. 14 in Nokesville, Senior Kimmy Hopkins alone scored more points than all the Wildcats combined.
Hopkins and senior Aly Jacobson went on an offensive rampage in the first quarter, respectively tallying 23 of Brentsville’s first 26 points.
By the end of the night, Hopkins put up 28 points despite only playing three quarters. She hit four 3-pointers, six deuces and four out of five free throws.
Jacobson’s offensive production came on 15 first-half points.
But in the second half, sophomore guard Keyla Baltimore picked up the slack, draining 12 of her 15 points in the third quarter alone.
The Tigers had eclipsed the 50-point lead marker with more than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The substantial lead had allowed the starters to take a seat in the final eight minutes and allow their teammates to come in from deep off the bench and experience playing time in a playoff atmosphere.
“Well, obviously the first thing is their shooting,” said Warren County Coach Brandie Millar about what makes Brentsville so offensively potent. “They run an offense where all they’re looking to do is shoot 3-pointers. And they kind of clean up the scraps inside. And they shoot very well.”
Not usually one to see the glass as half full, Brentsville Coach Eugene Baltimore stayed true to form after the Warren County game, finding flaws in his team’s second-quarter effort. He said he wanted to seen an improvement by Tuesday night's game against John Handley.
“I mean, we got off to a fast start, (but) then we relaxed a little bit,” he said. “And then we only scored 10 points in the second quarter.”
He attributed the slowdown in points to his team becoming too relaxed.
“(I told) them we weren’t playing basketball,” said Baltimore. “We didn’t play, you know, as well in the second quarter as well as we should have.
“I expect them to come out with a lot more fire,” he added.
Even as a No. 1 seed in the Northwestern District playoffs, the Tiger players and coaches have not become complacent.
“Any team can beat us on a bad day,” commented Jacobson. “If we’re not playing our best, any team can beat us. We need to play all four quarters.”
For a struggling team like eighth-seeded Warren County, just keeping up against a relentless attack proved to be the main challenge of the night.
“What semi-worked for us was expanding our 2-3 (zone defense) and to get a hand in front of every shooter’s face,” said Millar.
However, even when Brentsville took a few ill-advised shots, they generally followed up with a hoop.
“They shoot well as a team. They run the floor really well as a team,” stated the second-year coach.
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