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Stonewall girls remain perfect in district
A 17-point win against a Cedar Run District rival is not something the Stonewall Jackson girls basketball team particularly enjoys.
In fact, unless the Raiders were playing Osbourn Park, it usually means something went wrong.
Stonewall’s 59-42 win over Battlefield (4-8 overall, 2-3 district) last Friday night marked the second time in two seasons the Bobcats have kept the Raiders to a 17-point margin in Haymarket. It was also the third time in six district matches opponents have kept the Raiders’ margin of victory under 20 points.
“Right now, they’re just comfortable beating teams,” said assistant Raider coach Derek Caracciolo.
The Raiders (10-2, 6-0) shot uncharacteristically poorly from the foul line, sinking only six of 17 free throws. Meanwhile, Battlefield hit 10 out of 14 attempts and was only outscored in three pointers 3-2.
After SJHS mounted a 16-4 lead in the first quarter, Battlefield point guard Selina Mann sank an underhanded-style layup as she blazed through traffic down low. Two missed Stonewall foul shots and a Raider turnover then allowed junior guard Taylor Cordle to drill a baseline triple from the home fans side of the court.
A classic 3-point play from Samantha Jordan ended Battlefield’s 5-0 run, the first of just two times in the game BHS made consecutive field goals between Stonewall scores.
But right before time expired, the Mount St. Mary’s University-bound Mann took a pass from teammate Kayla Iannarelli, stormed down the court and banked in a shot after she leaped and leaned toward the hoop from just inside the right-side of the arc. Her made-for-a-poster, buzzer-beater shot past Stonewall defender Joy Caracciolo brought a collective “Oh!” and cheers from the crowd with the Bobcats then down by just single digits, 19-11.
Unfortunately for Battlefield, it was the last time the score would be that close.
“I think we just started to rush it and panic a little bit. Because we’re so, like, anxious to hurry up and get the shot and catch up that we kind of lose control of the ball,” said BHS center Annie Jones.
Stonewall opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run and held a 33-18 advantage by half-time. Battlefield actually outscored the visiting squad by five points in the third quarter to pull within 10 points, but by the midway point of the final period, Stonewall simply played like, well, Stonewall.
“It’s just all mental. I think we have to get better in how we think. We have to play hard all the time; we have to do the small things all the time,” said SJHS guard Kyani White, who led all scorers with 23 points.
The future Virginia Tech Hokie sank back-to-back shots and two free throws before picking off Mann and returning to the bucket for her eighth straight point. Mann (19 points) hit one more bucket with about one minute left and Jones closed the game out with a successful foul shot.
“Right now, we’re nowhere close to peaking so I’m … very, very happy that we haven’t peaked yet,” said Raiders coach Nsonji White. “We’re starting to offensively to peak because my three scorers have been in high double figures all night for the last six games.”
That scoring trio revolves around his daughter Kyani, the most prolific 3-point shooter on the team (she scored three triples against Battlefield), center Caracciolo (18 points) and senior forward Samantha Jordan (14 points). Like Kyani White, Jordan has already verbally committed to play basketball after graduation as she intends to attend Lafayette College.
The sophomore Caracciolo, however, has come on surprisingly strong this season. Against Battlefield, she used speed and aggression on the boards to thwart attacks, particularly during her six-point performance in the second quarter.
“Well, they shouldn’t be playing with us and we were letting them come within, like, 10 points and I was like, ‘I really need to step up,’” said Caracciolo. “This shouldn’t be happening.”
“The shots in the middle, that’s her sweet spot,” Kyani White said of Caracciolo. “Whenever she gets the ball in the middle, there seems to be a bucket.”
Stonewall and Battlefield will have one more crack at each other Feb. 6 in Manassas in the second-to-last game of the regular season. The Cedar Run District playoffs begin one week later at Fauquier High School.
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