LBoogie's The Real 411

The Dance started last week as teams from all over the DMV laced ‘em up and got ready to make a run for their conference and state championships.

Sun Mar 7th: The week started with the WCAC Final 4…this league has been so competitive during the season that every team has lost to another top team at least once.

Bishop McNamara vs. St John’s: This game was nip n’ tuck all the way,  Sr. Cierra Strickland was shooting the lights out in the first half from B-Mac.  Sr. Nicola Zimmer played a tough game and Fr. Lindsay Allen did a great job penetrating and creating score opportunities for herself and her teammates. Coach Rod Hairston has done a great job with B-Mac in his 1st year but I can sense that he is still struggling with coaching around not having a shot clock, especially in close games when the other team just plays  keep away. In the end that is what St. John’s did.

Paul IV vs Elizabeth Seton: PVI had just come from playing in the VA Independent Championship game, which went to double OT and they didn’t get back to school until 2 AM, so their legs were dead.  Seton as able to execute in the half court as well as push the ball in transition. PVI girls fought hard but they were clearly gassed..I really love 6-0 Fr. Maya Singelton from PVI, the girl is a physical specimen, the best way to describe her is “country strong”.

Mon Mar 8: WCAC Finals Seton vs  St. John’s…it was the Ty Marshall show from start to finish, the Georgia Tech signee was able to penetrate St. John’s defense at will, Sr, forward Alexis Martin did a great job controlling the boards.  From a coaching perspective, Coach Perizac had her Seton team well prepared and I think Coach Scribner stayed in M2M too long, especially with no real post presence.

Wed Mar 10: Virginia AAA Semi-Finals at VCU..it was a Beach vs Beltway showdown with teams from the Tidewater going against squads from Fairfax County.

Princess Anne vs. Oakton: The gym was packed with college coaches from the top programs in the NCAA who came to see “Queen” Elizabeth Williams the #1 recruit in the country…of course Pat and Geno were on opposite sides of the gym.  Geno is Geno, he was wearing  $500 Italian loafers and some nice designer jeans, no need to rock the UConn polo. Pat Summit and her assistant Dean Lockwood were both sporting that bright Rocky Top orange, it is impossible not to see them.  Coach Summit was being bombarded with autograph and picture request, which she of course handled with her usual style and grace. No one seemed to approach Coach Auriemma, I think they were intimated..Geno rolls hard .

Honestly that game was a little boring, it was clear that Princess Anne was running in cruise control, they could have beaten Oakton by 30 if they really stepped on the gas. Williams had close to a triple double and barely broke a sweat, Georgetown signee Samisha Powell had an awful game offensively but the story was Norfolk St signee Coutrny Braxton, who was on fire from the 3-point line 4-4.  Oakton is known for their 3 point shooting could never really get going, they had spurts but it seemed more like PA taking it easy on defense then them executing offensively. When PA played real defense and denied the next pass, Oakton couldn’t run their stuff..if there was a shot clock they probably would have had 6 or 7 violations.  Jr. Zora Stephenson played the best game I have seen her play, mainly because she didn’t just hang out in the corner trying to drop 3s..she worked hard trying to get to the basket, she rebounded and defended and really showed a competitive spark.

The second game had a little bit more flavor, Lake Taylor is an extremely athletic and fast team but West Springfield has a couple of athletes of their own.  Jr. guard Linda Stephney is the engine that makes LT run, she pushes tempo and is a terrific passer.  Coach Billy Gibson has been at WS for 25 years and has coached some great teams and players including Kara Lawson..he knows his Xs and Os.  WS for the most part was able to handle LT’s zone press..So. PG April Robinson didn’t get rattled and was able to make the right pass. Even though WS has getting to the basket they missed a tremendous amount of bunnies and Robinson didn’t shoot the ball well.  Logan Battle did have a double-double but when LT’s Jr. Toia Gidgetts and Jr. Crystal Leary were in the game she had a tough time scoring.  Gidgetts is a tweener post that is the glue player for LT and 6′2″ Leary is long and athletic and can defend all 5 positions.  Soph SG Jordan Miller is a terrific clutch shooter, she knocked down some big shots for WS and lead them in scoring. Once LT had a 10 pt lead with 2 mins left, with out a shot clock the game was over.

Once again the Beach teams dominate..it must be the ocean air!

Next up MD State Finals at UMBC

A message to my man F.H.F.T don’t start no you know what today in the gym.

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