2A Girls East Semis: Wilson Memorial 63 Greensville County 54 - FINAL
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(News Virginian Article by Cody Elliott)
EMPORIA – Leading just 46-45 with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter, it was like a flick of a switch for Wilson Memorial.
Some would call it clutch. Others may call it stepping up.
As for Green Hornets senior Lexi Deffenbaugh?
“I think it’s a senior thing,” Deffenbaugh said with a smile. “Obviously the past couple years, it hasn’t always been like that. It’s been rushed. That was awful. Now we realize how much time is left, keep our composure and it’s a whole lot better.”
That 13-2 run extended Wilson’s lead to 12 early in the fourth and eventually turn into a 63-54 win over Greensville County in the Group 2A East girls basketball semifinals on Thursday night.
With the victory, the Hornets advance to the 2A East championship game against Buffalo Gap on Saturday at Orange County High School. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
Following a 3 from Tia Eason to cut the Hornets lead to one, Deffenbaugh found Jordan Sondrol for a basket in transition followed by a trey from the top of the arc.
Sarah Sondrol scored for Wilson to start the fourth followed by a driving basket from a Deffenbaugh and a pair of jumpers from Jordan Sondrol to push the lead to 59-47 and the Hornets would never look back.
“We put a lot of our faith in them because they’ve been doing it for so long,” Sarah Sondrol said of her older sister Jordan and Deffenbaugh. “It’s great to have them. You can depend on them to hit big shots and play defense. It’s great.”
Coming into the game, head coach Jackie Bryan warned her team the atmosphere at Greensville would be much different than any they’ve seen before.
From no warmup music to a live band playing directly behind the Wilson bench, the team was a bit shocked.
“We knew it was going to be different,” Sarah Sondrol said. “We try not to focus on that. We talked about it in practice. I think we did a good job of not letting it affect us. We just wanted to play our game.”
The players said Bryan actually had the team watch film of previous games in the gymnasium just to show them the band, the cheerleaders and how it appeared.
That proved to be beneficial on Thursday night.
“At first they told us we didn’t have warmup music and we were [disappointed],” Deffenbaugh said. “It was still kind of fun. The band gets you pumped up which was kind of cool.”
The energy from the band appeared to be working early as Wilson connected on a trio of 3s in the opening frame, including two from Jordan Poole, to jump out to a 17-7 lead.
Poole connected on another 3 in the second along with a pair of baskets from Sarah Sondrol to quickly put the Hornets up 25-9 and make it appear as if it would be a long night for the Eagles.
“I told them, ‘The beginning of the game is how we are. We have to get back to that,’” Bryan said. “We never really got back to that but they got their confidence back.”
Following a putback by Sarah Sondrol to push the lead to 16, Greensville connected on six 3s in the second quarter and ended the frame on a 15-5 run to cut the Wilson lead to 34-30 by intermission.
“The main thing was to just stay in control,” Jordan Sondrol said. “Once you start getting a little nervous, you start throwing the ball away and stuff. You just have to settle down and play like we do.”
Players said the team got confused defensively during the run, giving up open shots due to missed assignments.
“That was our fault,” Deffenbaugh said. “We didn’t really know who we had at the time. It was a miscommunication. Hopefully next time, we’ll talk better. We were a little scattered on defense.”
The run tampered the Hornets confidence for a brief run, something that Bryan says she witnessed during intermission.
In the second half though, the team’s resiliency helped them bounce back as the two teams battled throughout the third before Wilson’s late push helped them pull away.
Jordan Sondrol led all scorers with 22 points on the evening while Poole finished with 14, Sarah Sondrol added 12 and Deffenbaugh chipped in with 11. Cheridan Hatfield and Lauren Clayton added a bucket apiece.
After a disappointing loss to Clarke County in last year’s 2A East championship game, the team has a sour taste in its mouth that is determined to get rid of.
“Oh we’re drawing from that,” Bryan said of the 2015 loss. “Last week when we started the regional tournament, I told them to keep it in the back of their minds. They were not happy with how they played in Orange County…They were very disappointed.”
The players admit it fuels them and despite clinching a spot in the 2A state tournament already and a quarterfinal game at the James Madison Convocation Center, the team still isn’t satisfied.
Now, they get a date with the Bison, a team they’ve beat three times this season already – all by double digits.
“It’s definitely one of the most important moments – to get that championship,” Jordan Sondrol. “We want to be different than last time. It’s a huge thing going into the tournament as a No. 1 seed instead of No. 2.”
Bryan says her team is more prepared this season with five seniors who have experienced the pain of a loss.
She adds that despite how well Gap has played as of late, she believes if her team executes like it is capable of, they’ll be successful.
“Now we’re ready,” she said. “That’s the difference. We know how to prepare for that game. … It’s getting to the point now where it isn’t really who we are playing, it’s about us.”
As for Deffenbaugh, she says the team needs to hit more shots and needs to play better defense.
But her main motivation for a win on Saturday evening?
“We need another trophy,” she said under a laugh. “That’s what we really need.”
EMPORIA – Leading just 46-45 with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter, it was like a flick of a switch for Wilson Memorial.
Some would call it clutch. Others may call it stepping up.
As for Green Hornets senior Lexi Deffenbaugh?
“I think it’s a senior thing,” Deffenbaugh said with a smile. “Obviously the past couple years, it hasn’t always been like that. It’s been rushed. That was awful. Now we realize how much time is left, keep our composure and it’s a whole lot better.”
That 13-2 run extended Wilson’s lead to 12 early in the fourth and eventually turn into a 63-54 win over Greensville County in the Group 2A East girls basketball semifinals on Thursday night.
With the victory, the Hornets advance to the 2A East championship game against Buffalo Gap on Saturday at Orange County High School. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
Following a 3 from Tia Eason to cut the Hornets lead to one, Deffenbaugh found Jordan Sondrol for a basket in transition followed by a trey from the top of the arc.
Sarah Sondrol scored for Wilson to start the fourth followed by a driving basket from a Deffenbaugh and a pair of jumpers from Jordan Sondrol to push the lead to 59-47 and the Hornets would never look back.
“We put a lot of our faith in them because they’ve been doing it for so long,” Sarah Sondrol said of her older sister Jordan and Deffenbaugh. “It’s great to have them. You can depend on them to hit big shots and play defense. It’s great.”
Coming into the game, head coach Jackie Bryan warned her team the atmosphere at Greensville would be much different than any they’ve seen before.
From no warmup music to a live band playing directly behind the Wilson bench, the team was a bit shocked.
“We knew it was going to be different,” Sarah Sondrol said. “We try not to focus on that. We talked about it in practice. I think we did a good job of not letting it affect us. We just wanted to play our game.”
The players said Bryan actually had the team watch film of previous games in the gymnasium just to show them the band, the cheerleaders and how it appeared.
That proved to be beneficial on Thursday night.
“At first they told us we didn’t have warmup music and we were [disappointed],” Deffenbaugh said. “It was still kind of fun. The band gets you pumped up which was kind of cool.”
The energy from the band appeared to be working early as Wilson connected on a trio of 3s in the opening frame, including two from Jordan Poole, to jump out to a 17-7 lead.
Poole connected on another 3 in the second along with a pair of baskets from Sarah Sondrol to quickly put the Hornets up 25-9 and make it appear as if it would be a long night for the Eagles.
“I told them, ‘The beginning of the game is how we are. We have to get back to that,’” Bryan said. “We never really got back to that but they got their confidence back.”
Following a putback by Sarah Sondrol to push the lead to 16, Greensville connected on six 3s in the second quarter and ended the frame on a 15-5 run to cut the Wilson lead to 34-30 by intermission.
“The main thing was to just stay in control,” Jordan Sondrol said. “Once you start getting a little nervous, you start throwing the ball away and stuff. You just have to settle down and play like we do.”
Players said the team got confused defensively during the run, giving up open shots due to missed assignments.
“That was our fault,” Deffenbaugh said. “We didn’t really know who we had at the time. It was a miscommunication. Hopefully next time, we’ll talk better. We were a little scattered on defense.”
The run tampered the Hornets confidence for a brief run, something that Bryan says she witnessed during intermission.
In the second half though, the team’s resiliency helped them bounce back as the two teams battled throughout the third before Wilson’s late push helped them pull away.
Jordan Sondrol led all scorers with 22 points on the evening while Poole finished with 14, Sarah Sondrol added 12 and Deffenbaugh chipped in with 11. Cheridan Hatfield and Lauren Clayton added a bucket apiece.
After a disappointing loss to Clarke County in last year’s 2A East championship game, the team has a sour taste in its mouth that is determined to get rid of.
“Oh we’re drawing from that,” Bryan said of the 2015 loss. “Last week when we started the regional tournament, I told them to keep it in the back of their minds. They were not happy with how they played in Orange County…They were very disappointed.”
The players admit it fuels them and despite clinching a spot in the 2A state tournament already and a quarterfinal game at the James Madison Convocation Center, the team still isn’t satisfied.
Now, they get a date with the Bison, a team they’ve beat three times this season already – all by double digits.
“It’s definitely one of the most important moments – to get that championship,” Jordan Sondrol. “We want to be different than last time. It’s a huge thing going into the tournament as a No. 1 seed instead of No. 2.”
Bryan says her team is more prepared this season with five seniors who have experienced the pain of a loss.
She adds that despite how well Gap has played as of late, she believes if her team executes like it is capable of, they’ll be successful.
“Now we’re ready,” she said. “That’s the difference. We know how to prepare for that game. … It’s getting to the point now where it isn’t really who we are playing, it’s about us.”
As for Deffenbaugh, she says the team needs to hit more shots and needs to play better defense.
But her main motivation for a win on Saturday evening?
“We need another trophy,” she said under a laugh. “That’s what we really need.”
