FLY LIKE THE EAGLES: Girls continue winning ways with WVD win

The George Washington High girls basketball team overcame more than its fair share of adversity to win Friday’s home game against Halifax County.

GW prevailed despite scoring just 16 points in the first half, despite shooting less than 50 percent from the free throw line and even though the Comets finished with a sizeable rebounding advantage.

As a result, the Eagles improved to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the Western Valley District with a come-from-behind 44-39 victory. Jasmine Hairston scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and Antwanique Crews drove for a clinching layup with 10.6 seconds remaining to thwart a late Halifax rally.

“We played really well in the second half,” said GW coach Wayne Shelton. “I thought we did a great job in the third quarter, when they only scored three points. That was a big factor. We played great defense that quarter, got in the game. And in the fourth quarter, we made some passes, ran some offense and got some easy shots. Halifax is a good team.”

GW pulled ahead in the second quarter with an 8-0 run. But Halifax (8-4, 1-1 Western Valley) responded with eight straight points of its own and carried a 20-16 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

“I thought they played great defense,” Shelton said. “We didn’t get in transition. We couldn’t force them to throw the ball away, and they took care of the ball. Every possession to them was important, and they took their time, made passes and took good shots. … The first half, we just didn’t have enough movement on offense. It was like we were very stationary, looking for an easy shot, and we weren’t working as hard as we needed to.”

Both teams struggled offensively in the third period. In fact, the Comets went nearly six minutes without a field goal before Whitney Cargo scored to give her team a 23-21 lead. GW then went on a 12-2 run to take its largest lead at 33-25.

But Halifax wasn’t finished. Nia Brown’s putback pulled the Comets to within 33-32 with 3:50 remaining in regulation. But Hairston sank a pair of free throws nine seconds later, then drove for a layup to give GW a 37-32 cushion.

The Comets mounted one final charge, cutting the deficit to 40-38 on a 3-pointer by Lauren Daniel with just under a minute remaining. But Crews converted a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game once again.

“That was really big,” said Shelton. “It gave us the luxury of trapping and still trying to force tempo. We do that better than we do just sitting back and playing zone or playing man. So we like to trap out of everything we do. We’re up four, if we trap and they hit a three, we’re still winning. If we’re up three, they hit a three, we can’t trap.”

Mylese Brown made the first of two attempts from the line with 16 seconds on the clock, but missed the second. GW’s Tia Chattin rebounded and fired a baseball pass downcourt to a wide-open Crews for the final points of the night.

Kymmisa Walker had eight points and Crews chipped in with seven for GW, which plays at Patrick Henry next Friday. Tiffany Wilson paced Halifax with nine points, while McCargo and Nia Brown finished with eight apiece.