Millbrook hopes Loudoun Valley experience pays off in state quarters against Carroll County
Millbrook freshman point Avery O’Roke drives to the basket during last Friday’s Region 4C title game loss against Loudoun Valley. The defending state champion Pioneers (22-4) face Carroll County (19-6) in tonight’s Class 4 state quarterfinal game at Pulaski High School.
Erick Green has led the Millbrook girls’ basketball team to the Class 4 quarterfinals in each of his three seasons as coach. The Pioneers (22-4) face Carroll County (19-6) in tonight’s Class 4 state quarterfinal game at Pulaski High School.
WINCHESTER — The Class 4 defending state champions might very well have gotten the experience they need to thrive in the postseason last Friday night.
The Millbrook girls’ basketball team (22-4) will take the court against Region 4D champion Carroll County (19-6) at 6 p.m. today at Pulaski County High School, a veteran team that returns two All-Three Rivers District players and several other key contributors from last year’s team that also won the Region 4D title.
Tonight will mark the fourth straight year that the Pioneers will be playing in the state tournament. But it’s important to note that this is a different Millbrook team.
The reason why the Pioneers are playing 220 miles from home instead of Shenandoah University like they did for last year’s state quarterfinals is because of their 78-70 loss at Loudoun Valley in the Region 4C championship game last Friday.
There’s no question which team had the edge in the non-tangible aspects of that game.
While Millbrook entered the game with the status as defending state champions and riding a 10-game postseason winning streak, Loudoun Valley had the experience edge. The Vikings had three returning All-Dulles District players and other key contributors back from the team that lost to Millbrook in last year’s Class 4 state semifinals. For the Pioneers, the only player back from last year’s team who played more than 10 minutes per game was junior Ali Hauck.
At the game’s outset, Millbrook struggled with Loudoun Valley’s boisterous fans and the Vikings’ full-court press, and the Pioneers fell behind 17-4 after five minutes. Millbrook settled in and got within six (46-40) with 3:33 left in the third quarter, but that was as close as it got until the Pioneers made it 75-70 with 15 seconds left.
Millbrook senior guard Jalyn Abernathy said before Tuesday’s practice that the Pioneers’ “heads weren’t there” at the start.
“We need to have our heads next game,” Abernathy said.
Millbrook coach Erick Green Sr. said he feels the Loudoun Valley contest should help his successful but relatively inexperienced group going forward.
“We hadn’t been pressed all year, and I think it rattled the girls,” Green said. “They made mistakes that they shouldn’t. It’s not that we don’t go over press break, but we just weren’t comfortable with it. They got comfortable as the game went on. The next day, we were in the gym, making sure we knew how to do press break.
“I think the pressure’s off of them now. Like I tell people, the only girl who has [significant] playoff experience is Ali, and even she started off slow [against Loudoun Valley]. We got it together, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. But I told the girls, we were going to learn from it and get better.”
Millbrook will need to play composed from the start tonight against Carroll County’s veteran lineup.
“They kind of remind me of Loudoun Valley,” Green said.
The Cavaliers — who lost 59-58 to Loudoun Valley in last year’s state quarterfinals — enter tonight’s game on a 12-game winning streak, with its most recent victory coming by the score of 44-36 against Pulaski County in the Region 4C final.
The only Class 4 team in the seven-team Three Rivers District, Carroll County went undefeated against district foes this year. Carroll County is led by 17th-year head coach Marc Motley, the same person who guided the Cavaliers when they lost to Millbrook in the 2012 state semifinals. He has three returning starters on a team that averages 51.1 points per game and gives up 40.
The Cavaliers starting lineup features 5-10 senior guard Kenda Robinson (averages of 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4.5 assists), 5-8 senior guard Madi Dalton (15 points, 4.5 rebounds), junior 6-0 post Abbey Kennedy (10 points, 7.5 rebounds), senior 5-11 post Caroline Giles (6.5 points, 8 rebounds) and 5-5 senior point guard Laken Alley (5 points, 4.5 assists). Motley said Alley and Dalton have led the way in 3-point shooting.
Dalton, the Three Rivers District Player of the Year, and Kennedy are repeat all-district selections, and Robinson was named to the all-district second team. Dalton was an all-region choice last year (this year’s All-Region 4D team has not been announced yet).
“We like to play up-tempo and push the basketball in transition,” Motley said. “We like to get our defense set on the defensive end. We play a lot of half-court man on defense. We get out and press some, but that’s not our M.O.”
As evidenced by their stats, Carroll County is a balanced offensive group, much like Millbrook. Four players scored between 10 and 13 points in the Cavaliers’ 55-41 win over Jefferson Forest in the Region 4D semifinals. Jefferson Forest came into that game with a 23-2 record. Motley said Robinson has taken charge in the playoffs though, scoring a total of 27 points in the last two games.
“It just seems like she plays a lot better this time of year,” Motley said.
While Carroll County likes to push the pace on offense, Green said the Cavaliers do a good job in their half-court offense.
“They take their time with the ball,” Green said. “They get what they want. They move the ball around and play good team basketball. Their post players have good post moves, and their guards can knock down some shots from outside. They try to get everybody involved. They play about eight kids, and when their bench players come in they don’t lose anything. We’re going to be in a good game.”
Millbrook’s starting lineup features All-Region 4C first-team selections Hauck (regular-season averages of 15.4 points, area-best 13.5 rebounds, co-area steals leader with 5.4 per game) and Abernathy (area-best 4.2 assists, co-area steals leader with 5.4 per game, 8.7 points). Fellow starters are second-team All-Class 4 Northwestern District selections Avery O’Roke (11.2 points, 3.7 assists), a freshman point guard; junior guard Emily Magee (10.4 points) and senior forward Hailey Paige (7.7 points, 11.2 rebounds).
The Pioneers average 61.8 points per game and allow 43.3.
Hauck said if the Pioneers execute the game plan that Green lays out for them from the start, they’ll have a chance to be successful.
“I think what’s going to help us against Carroll County is just confidence in our system,” Hauck said. “If we just do what we need to do, we’ll be fine.”
The Millbrook-Carroll County winner will play the Loudoun Valley-Pulaski County winner in the state semifinals on Monday or Tuesday at a location to be determined.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki
Millbrook freshman point Avery O’Roke drives to the basket during last Friday’s Region 4C title game loss against Loudoun Valley. The defending state champion Pioneers (22-4) face Carroll County (19-6) in tonight’s Class 4 state quarterfinal game at Pulaski High School.
Erick Green has led the Millbrook girls’ basketball team to the Class 4 quarterfinals in each of his three seasons as coach. The Pioneers (22-4) face Carroll County (19-6) in tonight’s Class 4 state quarterfinal game at Pulaski High School.
WINCHESTER — The Class 4 defending state champions might very well have gotten the experience they need to thrive in the postseason last Friday night.
The Millbrook girls’ basketball team (22-4) will take the court against Region 4D champion Carroll County (19-6) at 6 p.m. today at Pulaski County High School, a veteran team that returns two All-Three Rivers District players and several other key contributors from last year’s team that also won the Region 4D title.
Tonight will mark the fourth straight year that the Pioneers will be playing in the state tournament. But it’s important to note that this is a different Millbrook team.
The reason why the Pioneers are playing 220 miles from home instead of Shenandoah University like they did for last year’s state quarterfinals is because of their 78-70 loss at Loudoun Valley in the Region 4C championship game last Friday.
There’s no question which team had the edge in the non-tangible aspects of that game.
While Millbrook entered the game with the status as defending state champions and riding a 10-game postseason winning streak, Loudoun Valley had the experience edge. The Vikings had three returning All-Dulles District players and other key contributors back from the team that lost to Millbrook in last year’s Class 4 state semifinals. For the Pioneers, the only player back from last year’s team who played more than 10 minutes per game was junior Ali Hauck.
At the game’s outset, Millbrook struggled with Loudoun Valley’s boisterous fans and the Vikings’ full-court press, and the Pioneers fell behind 17-4 after five minutes. Millbrook settled in and got within six (46-40) with 3:33 left in the third quarter, but that was as close as it got until the Pioneers made it 75-70 with 15 seconds left.
Millbrook senior guard Jalyn Abernathy said before Tuesday’s practice that the Pioneers’ “heads weren’t there” at the start.
“We need to have our heads next game,” Abernathy said.
Millbrook coach Erick Green Sr. said he feels the Loudoun Valley contest should help his successful but relatively inexperienced group going forward.
“We hadn’t been pressed all year, and I think it rattled the girls,” Green said. “They made mistakes that they shouldn’t. It’s not that we don’t go over press break, but we just weren’t comfortable with it. They got comfortable as the game went on. The next day, we were in the gym, making sure we knew how to do press break.
“I think the pressure’s off of them now. Like I tell people, the only girl who has [significant] playoff experience is Ali, and even she started off slow [against Loudoun Valley]. We got it together, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. But I told the girls, we were going to learn from it and get better.”
Millbrook will need to play composed from the start tonight against Carroll County’s veteran lineup.
“They kind of remind me of Loudoun Valley,” Green said.
The Cavaliers — who lost 59-58 to Loudoun Valley in last year’s state quarterfinals — enter tonight’s game on a 12-game winning streak, with its most recent victory coming by the score of 44-36 against Pulaski County in the Region 4C final.
The only Class 4 team in the seven-team Three Rivers District, Carroll County went undefeated against district foes this year. Carroll County is led by 17th-year head coach Marc Motley, the same person who guided the Cavaliers when they lost to Millbrook in the 2012 state semifinals. He has three returning starters on a team that averages 51.1 points per game and gives up 40.
The Cavaliers starting lineup features 5-10 senior guard Kenda Robinson (averages of 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4.5 assists), 5-8 senior guard Madi Dalton (15 points, 4.5 rebounds), junior 6-0 post Abbey Kennedy (10 points, 7.5 rebounds), senior 5-11 post Caroline Giles (6.5 points, 8 rebounds) and 5-5 senior point guard Laken Alley (5 points, 4.5 assists). Motley said Alley and Dalton have led the way in 3-point shooting.
Dalton, the Three Rivers District Player of the Year, and Kennedy are repeat all-district selections, and Robinson was named to the all-district second team. Dalton was an all-region choice last year (this year’s All-Region 4D team has not been announced yet).
“We like to play up-tempo and push the basketball in transition,” Motley said. “We like to get our defense set on the defensive end. We play a lot of half-court man on defense. We get out and press some, but that’s not our M.O.”
As evidenced by their stats, Carroll County is a balanced offensive group, much like Millbrook. Four players scored between 10 and 13 points in the Cavaliers’ 55-41 win over Jefferson Forest in the Region 4D semifinals. Jefferson Forest came into that game with a 23-2 record. Motley said Robinson has taken charge in the playoffs though, scoring a total of 27 points in the last two games.
“It just seems like she plays a lot better this time of year,” Motley said.
While Carroll County likes to push the pace on offense, Green said the Cavaliers do a good job in their half-court offense.
“They take their time with the ball,” Green said. “They get what they want. They move the ball around and play good team basketball. Their post players have good post moves, and their guards can knock down some shots from outside. They try to get everybody involved. They play about eight kids, and when their bench players come in they don’t lose anything. We’re going to be in a good game.”
Millbrook’s starting lineup features All-Region 4C first-team selections Hauck (regular-season averages of 15.4 points, area-best 13.5 rebounds, co-area steals leader with 5.4 per game) and Abernathy (area-best 4.2 assists, co-area steals leader with 5.4 per game, 8.7 points). Fellow starters are second-team All-Class 4 Northwestern District selections Avery O’Roke (11.2 points, 3.7 assists), a freshman point guard; junior guard Emily Magee (10.4 points) and senior forward Hailey Paige (7.7 points, 11.2 rebounds).
The Pioneers average 61.8 points per game and allow 43.3.
Hauck said if the Pioneers execute the game plan that Green lays out for them from the start, they’ll have a chance to be successful.
“I think what’s going to help us against Carroll County is just confidence in our system,” Hauck said. “If we just do what we need to do, we’ll be fine.”
The Millbrook-Carroll County winner will play the Loudoun Valley-Pulaski County winner in the state semifinals on Monday or Tuesday at a location to be determined.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki
