Titans Top Majors 59-50

Experience paid off big for the T.C. Williams girls basketball team on Wednesday night as it defeated Mount Vernon 59-50 to move on to the Northern Region semifinals.

Mount Vernon’s normally tenacious defense looked to be affected by team fatigue. Samantha Porter, voted to the National District's all-defensive team, played with a jammed right thumb wrapped in bandages. The injury clearly affected her ability to not only catch and shoot, but also rebound.

T.C. Williams controlled the offensive glass, giving the Titans multiple second-chance opportunities. Junior Gabby Moss demonstrated great perimeter defense for the Titans and was able to keep Mount Vernon from getting open looks beyond the key.

Although it took a few minutes for both teams to settle in on offense, it was from the charity stripe where T.C. Williams really excelled. The Titans scored 26 points on 70 percent shooting from the line on the night. 

“We worked on that a lot,” said T.C. Williams coach Kesha Walton. “We've been shooting terrible from the free-throw line the past couple of games. We said for us to win we have to focus a lot on free throws and knocking shots down when we had them."

Second-quarter play was a little more physical for the Majors, and Porter was able to block a couple shots and come up with some steals.

Mount Vernon coach Courtney Coffer was clearly unhappy with his team's rebounding effort, and the aggressiveness of his team sent the Titans to the line more often than they could afford. T.C. Williams shot 12 free throws in the second quarter.

Some fans started blowing illegal horns in an effort to break the Titans’ concentration and were given a warning by officials.

In the third quarter, the Majors had trouble handling the ball. Kelly Loftus picked up her hustle and applied pressure to the Titans’ offense, but she was called for multiple fouls, which sent T.C. Williams to the line again and again.

Loftus was handed a technical for slamming the ball in the third, her frustration obviously flowing over. She eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points.

T.C. Williams also changed its defense to a 1-3-1 zone, a move that proved helpful in maintaining the lead.

"We normally press," Walton said. "But they have a really good point guard. We knew that if we [pressed] we might end up chasing them all over the place, so we wanted to play defense from the half court and try to rattle them that way."

Mount Vernon tried to make a comeback late in the game, but with both teams in the bonus, it was the Titans’ free throw shooting that sealed the win. T.C. Williams recorded just three field goals in the final quarter.

“[The Titans] were more experienced and didn't lose composure when we had success," Coffer said. "We didn't play the way we've been playing all season. T.C. Williams was hungrier."

Moss and Sade Barber led the Titans in scoring with 13 points apiece. Jasmine Norman finished with 11.

Taylor Dunham scored 16 points for Mount Vernon.