Sirbaugh's 32 points spark Sherando

View larger image James Wood’s Danielle Rizzari (13) and Sherando’s Erin Magalis reach for a loose ball during their game Tuesday in Winchester. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Alaina Combs of Sherando and Erica Hepner of James Wood reach for a rebound. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Morgan Sirbaugh of Sherando drives and shoots against Paige Bridgeforth of James Wood. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Whitney Dick of James Wood has a shot blocked by Morgan Sirbaugh of Sherando in the first quarter. Jessica Hakel is in the background. Dennis Grundman/Daily

By Dennis Atwood - sports@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Morgan Sirbaugh made her last game as a player in James Wood's gym a memorable one, scoring a game-high 32 points to lead the Sherando Warriors to a 92-41 thrashing of the host Colonels in Northwestern District girls basketball action Tuesday evening.

Sirbaugh, a senior forward, balanced her production with 17 first-half points and 15 after intermission, on 13 for 28 field goal shooting, and was 6 for 10 on free throws. She also grabbed 15 rebounds (10 offensive), and made five steals.

"The last time we played James Wood, we gave up 29 points in the fourth quarter, so we wanted to make sure that we were in defenses to make ourselves successful, and I think we did that tonight, so I'm proud of how we played," Sirbaugh said.

"Coach [Kevin Reed] looked at me in the third quarter and was like, 'You need to score.' I was missing way too many easy shots, was only 9 for 22 or whatever, and that inspired me to go out there and to fight like heck to keep rebounding and keep putting it up."

The Colonels moved out to a 10-7 lead at 4:21 in the first period, but Sherando used its long-range artillery to radically change the game.

Senior forward Allison Boespflug connected on her second trey, with 4:04 on the clock, followed by a Sirbaugh layup, and the Colonels responded with field goals by Erica Hepner and Miranda Moore to maintain a 14-12 lead.

Sherando freshman guard Erin Magalis then hit from beyond the arc to give the Warriors a 15-14 lead, and they never looked back.

With two minutes remaining in the frame, Warriors coach Kevin Reed had to encourage some of his players to be more offensive, and junior guard Courtney Reid complied by draining a trey from the top of key.

Boespflug then hit her third 3, followed by a Reid repeat to give the Warriors a 24-14 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

"The first quarter was excellent. You can't ask for anything better," Colonels coach Rhonda Slider, whose squad trailed 25-15 at after the first period. "They were hustling, they were in the game and they wanted to show they could play basketball with this team.

"Then [Sherando] hit those 3's and, to be honest, I think Sherando outhustled us. They were getting up and down the floor quicker than we were. They were getting the fast breaks and moving the ball. We weren't able to get back and play defense on them."

The barrage of 3-pointers took a heavy toll on the Colonels, as Sherando (12-6, 4-1 Northwestern) opened the second period with a 9-0 run and James Wood (8-7, 1-3 Northwestern) managed only four points in the frame.

The Warriors kept pounding in the points, as Sirbaugh finished with 10 tallies in period and freshman guard Jessica Hakel scored nine points, including the Warriors' seventh 3-pointer, to help her team take a 49-19 halftime lead.

Boespflug hit two more 3-pointers in the second half and scored a putback to finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors took the third period, 19-11, and the final frame by 24-11.

Hakel contributed 16 points to the Warriors' cause.

The Warriors were 9 for 21 (42 percent) on 3-pointers.

Sherando's 4-1 record puts it in the driver's seat for second place in the district, trailing only Millbrook, with three games remaining in the regular season.