Westfield boys’ basketball on five-game win streak
Coach Doug Ewell’s varsity Bulldogs (13-3, 4-0) came out on the winning side of a rugged battle with Herndon last Thursday night, edging the Hornets in double overtime, 73-62.
Down three points at the half, Westfield rallied late in the game behind strong performances from Kris Perry and Quentin Basil to force double-overtime. The bulldogs gained a slight lead, forcing Herndon to foul, and eventually outscored the Hornets 14-3 in the final OT, including 12 straight free throws, to eek out the victory.
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“We started off on a 10-0 run and we were down 29-26 at halftime,” said Coach Doug Ewell. “We had some turnovers, but the third quarter was back and forth – I think we had 10 or 12 lead changes. In the final quarter, we hit some free throws and knocked down some shots. They are a good team and it was a good win for us.”
’s Zach Elcano and ’s Patrick McLaughlin fouled out in the fourth leaving both teams without their big men on the hardwood. But Basil showed up huge as he led the Bulldogs with a double double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Perry tallied 15 and one respectively. Coach Ewell said Herndon played his team tight the entire game but his players impressed him from the line late in the game to fortify the finish.
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C.J. Hill and Julius Rosa sunk a dozen points apiece, totaling four players who scored in double figures for Westfield. Ewell’s team remains at the top of the district, with just five regular season games remaining.
Westfield won a home game against Tuesday, Jan. 24, 58-31.
Girls’ basketball squad improves to .500 in the Concorde
Jules Abruzzo and Maggie McInturff both turned in outstanding performances for the Westfield girls’ varsity basketball team (11-5, 2-2) last Thursday night, to lead the Bulldogs past Herndon () in overtime, 49-46. Abruzzo scored 19 points, while McInturff knocked down 13, including 5 of 6 free throws and two big buckets from long distance. Lauren Hayden and Kiki Laux kicked-in five and seven points, respectively.
The girls have improved their free throw percentage throughout the past two weeks and hit 17 of 23 from the stripe against the Hornets. The win gives Westfield’s its second in a row in the district, after losing its first two to Chantilly and earlier this month. Coach Pat Deegan’s girls sit third in the Concorde, two games behind first-place Oakton with just two weeks left before the district tournament begins.
The Bulldogs lost 57-20 against Oakton on Jan. 24.
Indoor track update
Just two days before district competition, ’s indoor track Coach Kelly Deegan said her boys are on track in 2012, having qualified every relay for state competition this year.
“The kids are running well and continuing to improve each race,” said Deegan. “Our standout events are the 500, 800 and the 300 meter, with kind of long sprinters. We seem to have a really good group of them and several of those are juniors.”
Deegan’s boys have been hot the past two months. In December, Westfield ‘s 4x800 boys’ relay broke the Holiday Invitational meet record with a time of 8:0419. And Nathan Kiley set a record in the 500 meter earlier this season and looks poised to have a strong postseason. Alex Krall runs relays, pole-vaults and throws shot put. In fact he came into this past weekend with a district leading shot put of 42.6 feet. Deegan added she has several other athletes who can compete in multiple track and field events, including Tyrone Walker who placed second in the outdoor half-mile in states last season.
“Tyrone Walker is also a big part of the 4x800 meter relay,” Deegan said. “Max Chambers can run anything from the 300 to the 1000.”
The second-year indoor coach said putting together a meet line-up can be difficult for her athletes at times because “sometimes they have to sacrifice an individual event for the relays.” That sacrifice could pay off come district competition in two days, as the Concorde boasts vast talent in track. However, Deegan is well aware of the competition and believes the parity to be inspiring for her athletes.
“I think it gives everybody a little motivation to keep working hard,” she said. “Last year the boys were eight points from the district title and they got third.”
Westfield competes next at the District tournament on Jan. 26 at PG Sportsplex at 5 p.m.
