Experience Gives Loudoun County an Edge in Dulles District

By Paul Tenorio

Friday, January 4, 2008

With a 61-59 victory over local rival Loudoun Valley on Wednesday night, Loudoun County has won six straight games to move to 8-2 this season. It is the Raiders' best start since the 2005-06 season -- when they began 14-0 and finished 29-2 as the Virginia AA runners-up.

Samantha Akers scored two points in the Raiders' 61-52 loss to Jamestown in the that season's state championship game, and she is one of three players on the Raiders' roster who played on the 2005-06 team, giving Loudoun County an experienced core with a winning pedigree.

With Akers (now a senior who averages 13.5 points per game) and freshman Brittany Batts (15 points per game) leading the way, Loudoun County is averaging 57.5 points per game, sixth-best in the area. The Raiders have been most effective during the streak, scoring 67 points per game after averaging just 41 per game in the first four contests of the year.

Loudoun County Coach Kevin Reed pointed to a change in philosophy forged during an eight-day break between games and said he believes the team has a good chance to challenge for a state title again this season.

"I believe that if we get out of our district, we have a legit shot to go to states," Loudoun County Coach Kevin Reed said. "When you have Samantha and Keri Sarver and Amy Williams, those three kids understand what it takes to win, and the experience from that team in 2005 has set the example. They understand the commitment and responsibility of putting in hard work and the responsibility of getting better every day."

Stonewall's Strong Start

After cruising through the first month of the season unbeaten, the ninth-ranked Stonewall Jackson girls' basketball team found the test it was looking for during last week's Schoolgirl Classic tournament in Belfry, Ky. The Raiders fell behind by 17 points in the first half against Pike Central -- one of the top teams in Kentucky -- before rallying for a 62-53 victory.

Overcoming that, and winning the tournament two days later with a victory against Taft (Ohio) High, provided additional confidence for Stonewall (11-0), which is off to the best start in school history. The Raiders are 63-8 the past three seasons and have set a preliminary goal of an undefeated regular season.

"We expect big things," Coach Nsonji White said. "We've developed a winning attitude, and this team has decided that it does not want to lose."

Southern's Twin Powers

Southern senior Heather Schneck will join the 1,000-point club when scores her next point -- probably in Friday night's home game against Severna Park -- and it's a club that already includes one of her teammates: twin sister Kim Schneck.

Kim surpassed that plateau earlier this season, and the Schneck twins have led Southern to a 5-3 start, including a win over Anne Arundel County rival South River to close out the MBOA Holiday Hoops Classic last weekend.

Kim and Heather are identical in appearance and have been nearly identical in statistics during their careers, Bulldogs Coach Linda Kilpatrick said. There also is a slight height difference -- Kim is 5-foot-10; Heather is 5-11 -- and Heather has taken over the ball-handling duties this season.

Together, the guards present matchup problems for opponents with their combination of height and skill.

"When you have a pair of scoring threats like that outside, it's pretty tough to defend," Kilpatrick said. "And Heather has developed into someone to be reckoned with inside also. So they're going to be hard to replace next year."

Idle Hands No Longer

Three of the area's top six girls' basketball teams were idle during the holiday break because of issues surrounding tournaments in which they had wanted to play.

No. 4 T.C. Williams and No. 6 Paint Branch were scheduled to play in the D.C. Hall of Fame Classic that was canceled days before the event because of a lack of organization.

No. 3 Eleanor Roosevelt stayed home because the Raiders did not get clearance to miss two days of school to play in South Carolina the week before Christmas, and a backup plan to participate in a Delaware tournament fell through because it would have entailed playing a Sunday game, also against school policy.

T.C. Williams Coach Jim Lewis said it was disappointing not to play in a tournament, but that it enabled the Titans' junior varsity to scrimmage against the varsity, allowed injured players to rest and gave him the opportunity to scout future opponents.

T.C. Williams is 6-0. Unbeaten Eleanor Roosevelt enters Friday night's game against Wise having played only three games. In addition to practicing, the Raiders split into teams and had a cookie-baking competition during the layoff. They also watched a lot of games at the IAABO 134 holiday tournament at Prince George's Community College.

"I feel like it's a little bit of a disadvantage for us, because we're going into the crux of our season and we still haven't gotten our rhythm," Eleanor Roosevelt Coach Rod Hairston said. "We were working to get better every day, but it becomes a real frustrating situation when you don't have teams to play and you've been watching other people play."

Dominion's Dominator

A young Dominion team continues to grow behind the play of junior guard Deandre Albritton, who is averaging 27.9 points per game for the Titans (3-5) this season.

Albritton continued to show why he is considered one of the top players in the Virginia AA Dulles District in the Titans' 63-60 win over Marshall on Dec. 29 at the McLean Invitational Tournament. In that game, Albritton scored a team-high 28 points, including a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. Albritton also had 34 points in a three-point loss to Centreville to open that tournament and has scored more than 30 points in three games this season, including a 32-point performance in three quarters against Freedom-South Riding on Dec. 18.

"As an athlete and being able to be productive on the court, he's by far one of the best players I've ever had as a coach," Dominion Coach Stephen Douglas said. "Not only can he shoot, he can keep everyone in the game; he's had a couple games where he's had eight or nine assists. He really understands the game and brings a lot of passion to the game."

Since Dominion can count on Albritton's production, Douglas said the key is finding another consistent scorer and working as a team to help support the junior guard's play.

"We have to do a better job as a whole putting teams away," Douglas said.

Staff writer Preston Williams and special correspondents Jeff Nelson and Matthew Stanmyre contributed to this report.

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