Sports / The Northern Virginia Daily/nvdaily.com
Falcons finish off Strasburg
 |
By Tommy Keeler Jr. - tkeeler@nvdaily.com
WOODSTOCK -- With the final days of her senior basketball season at hand, Rebecca Sigler is starting to play her best when her team needs her the most.
The Central center has been a key factor in the Falcons' success as of late, and the trend continued on Thursday night. Sigler pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds to help lead the Falcons to a 45-36 win over Strasburg in the Bull Run District tournament quarterfinals. It was the ninth win in the last 10 games for Central.
"She was a beast tonight," Central coach Stephanie Cooper said of Sigler. "She's so athletic and when she plays hard and puts everything into it she can dominate in the paint. She's played a big part in our success.
"It's like a light bulb came on and she realizes, 'I can do this.' She's really come out of her shell."
The Falcons (13-10) certainly needed her against the Rams. Strasburg's pressure defense had Central frustrated at times.
The Rams (9-14) held Central's top scorers Katelyn Poston and Brenna Cook to well under their season averages.
"I think the kids had a good understanding of what [Poston and Cook] like to do," Strasburg coach Joel Morgan said. "The kids executed what we wanted them to do, and I think there was some frustration there on [Poston and Cook's] end. Defensively, we were right where we wanted to be."
In the third period it looked like the Falcons were going to put the game away. A basket by Strasburg's Mikala Alsberry had the Rams within six points early in the period. However, Poston and Sigler came to life offensively.
The two combined for 10 points in a 12-2 run that gave Central a 37-21 lead with 1:34 remaining in the third period. Sigler, who went 1-for-9 from the free-throw line against the Rams on Monday, continued to struggle early against the Rams on Thursday. The 6-foot senior came out of her shooting slump in the third period, making three straight from the foul line during the Falcons' surge.
"I just had to think positive," Sigler said. "And just think, 'I can do this for my team.'"
Sigler hit a basket with 1:56 left in the third quarter, but it would be the last basket of the game for the Falcons.
Strasburg made one last big run at its county rival. The Rams scored the first seven points of the fourth period to cut the lead to 37-30 with 5:36 left. Cook and Allison Bright each hit a free throw for Central to extend the lead to 39-30.
A basket by Brandy Clem and a steal and layup by Katlyn Ayers cut the lead to 39-34 with 3:08 left in the game.
The score stayed the same for almost two minutes. The Rams had several chances to cut into the lead, but missed five shots during the stretch.
"We just weren't able to get enough on offense," Morgan said. "We were down 34-21 and we were able to pull ourselves together there. And I thought things were going to get really tight there.
"It was 39-34 for the longest time. We had three or four possessions there where we just couldn't get it to two [points] or three [points] and make it a one-possession game."
Sigler made two free throws with 1:18 left to break the scoring drought, and Cook and Poston combined for four in the final minute to seal the win.
Clem led the Rams with 16 points, while Ayers added 11. Strasburg's season comes to an end, but Morgan said he couldn't be any happier with his four seniors -- Ayers, Clem, Hannah Clinedinst and Corissa Alsberry.
"You could see at the end [the seniors] were gasping for air, and I think that pretty much sums up what they've meant to us," Morgan said. "They've put a lot of hard work and effort into this program. And we got a lot out of the four of them. And I hope in some way they got a lot out of being in this program as well."
Sigler finished with 12 points, three steals and two assists, while Poston added 12 points, five steals and one assist. Cook also had 10 points for Central.
The Falcons will play the winner of today's quarterfinal game between William Monroe and Manassas Park next Wednesday at George Mason High School in the tournament semifinals. In their last 12 games, the Falcons' only losses have come to William Monroe.
Central just barely missed making regionals last year despite winning 13 games, but will most likely be in regionals this season no matter what happens in the district tournament. The Falcons have only eight players on the roster, and Sigler said that has helped the team during their winning streak at the end of the season.
"I think it's definitely brought us closer together," Sigler said. "We have team dinners, and in the past a few wouldn't show up, but now everyone does. We have a small group, but I think we're tighter.
"Everybody is doing what they can. I think we're playing together as a team."
|
Rebecca Sigler
|
Leave a comment
Comments
Comments that are posted on nvdaily.com represent the opinion of the commenter and not the Northern Virginia Daily/nvdaily.com. If you feel that a comment is objectionable, please click on the Report Abuse link above. We will review the reported comment and make a decision on deleting it if we feel that it contains inappropriate content.