Mustangs exploit Eagles' dry spell

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By Ben Brooks - sports@nvdaily.com

STRASBURG -- Three weeks ago, the Clarke County High School girls basketball team reached into its bag of tricks and nearly upset two-time defending Group A, Division 2 state champion George Mason.

Since then, the bag has been empty as the Mustangs have twice overpowered the Eagles, once in the Bull Run District tournament final last week and again in Thursday night's Region B tournament semifinal at Strasburg. Top-seeded George Mason held fifth-seeded Clarke County to a paltry eight points over the last three quarters en route to a 65-19 victory.

With the win, the Mustangs (21-5) earn a trip to Saturday's Region B, Division 2 final and secure a spot in the upcoming state tournament, where they hope to pull off a rare three-peat.

"They're a great team," Clarke County coach Tim Lawrence said. "Anytime a team beats you four times in one year, it proves that they're the better team. We certainly would have liked to have played a little better tonight, but George Mason had a lot to do with that. They're just too big, too strong, and too skilled. There's a reason they've accomplished all the things they have."

After watching the Mustangs jump out to a 14-2 advantage, Clarke County recovered with a 9-5 run over the last three minutes of the first quarter and trailed 19-11 heading into the second. From that point on, it was all George Mason.

Led by 5-foot-10-inch freshman forward Ashley Alexander's 18 first-half points, the Mustangs outscored the Eagles 23-4 over the second quarter to grab a commanding 42-15 halftime advantage.

Things didn't get much better in the third. Chelsea Nelson, who had Clarke's lone basket in the second quarter, did the same in the third. Her drive in the lane with 6:25 left in the period cut Mason's lead to 44-17. The Mustangs scored the final 13 points of the period.

"The girls played exceptional defense," said George Mason coach LaBryan Thomas, whose team forced 15 Clarke County turnovers in the first half alone. "And on offense, they played together and really looked for each other."

With its tremendous size, George Mason wouldn't appear to be a team that likes to push the ball up the floor. However, looks can be deceiving. Against Clarke County, the Mustangs looked to run early with point guard Leah Roth. Alexander was the beneficiary of several transition baskets. She scored all 18 of her points in the first half, including 11 in the opening quarter.

The Eagles (14-11) came out in a box-and-one, trying to slow down Mason's 6-foot sophomore forward Stephanie Cheney, who had 30 points in the Mustangs' 55-32 tournament final win over the Eagles last week. Cheney didn't score until late in the first half, but the Mustangs had plenty of others to chip in.

"That's the thing with them, they're so deep," Lawrence said. "We wanted to take Cheney away because she dominated the last time we played them. But with Alexander and the other kids stepping up, there's not much you can do."

Cheney still finished with 16 points. Roth added nine as the Mustangs put nine players into the scoring column. Logan Johnson and Kasey Canterbury, two of Clarke County's seven seniors, paced the Eagles with six points apiece.

"I'm so proud of these girls for their effort and dedication," Lawrence said. "You can't define their season by one game. Sure, we would have liked to go a little further, but it wasn't meant to be."