A packed Clarksburg gymnasium hosted the latest edition of the Clarksburg Coyotes (7-2) vs. Seneca Valley Screamin’ Eagles (6-2) rivalry. For the varsity girls basketball matchup, both teams entered with six wins with hopes to contend for the top seed in the county. By game’s end, the Coyotes celebrated a home victory, 61-48.
The difference in the affair? Rebounding and put-backs, brought on by the three Turner sisters, junior London, senior Trinity and freshman Destiny, who has produced two 20-rebound games the past few weeks and moved to the No. 3 spot in Clarksburg’s single-game rebounds, according to Head Coach Sissy Natoli.
“I have a freshman getting that job done,” said Natoli. “And then I have London and [Trinity] that are just complementing each other. and it goes as they go. Trinity had an awesome game.”
It wasn’t at all easy for Clarksburg, however, as they failed to hold a five-point lead in the first half that dwindled to three points with 2.2 seconds remaining with the Eagles inbounding. As the buzzer sounded, so did the crack of the nylon net as sophomore Jayden Addison sniped a half-court three-ball to tie the game, 30-30.
“[Addison’s] going to drain a three right in front of [you] if you give her any space,” Natoli said. “As soon as she had a little separation switch and as soon as that shot went up, we all knew it was going in.”
Coming out of halftime, it was a third quarter affair for London Turner, who posted eight points in the third quarter, with six coming from offensive rebounds.
“It just brings the energy once we get that rebound,” Trinity Turner said. “It brings the crowd into the game and everything. I think getting those put-backs and ‘and-1’s’ look nice on us. I think it just brings the energy for us.”
In the final frame, it was senior Faith Kali who sparked the offense, hitting a three-point jump shot to put the lead to five. Then a steal and fast-break lay-up moments later put their lead to nine points.
“It felt pretty good [to make those shots],” Kali said. “I came on [the court] on fire, kept the same intensity as I usually come on with.”
While Kali helped extend the lead, it was the teams’ defensive performance that bottled up the Eagles offense, who failed to score for 3:15 of the final quarter. Kali credited the team’s passion for defense.
“l think we’re a very competitive team when it comes to defending,” Kali said. “That’s how we win. You win by defending. I think defense was the game and that’s my game.”
The Eagles offense couldn’t break the pack tactics of the Coyotes defense, nor slow down the physical play in the paint toward the end, ultimately leading to the Clarksburg win.
Upcoming Games:
Clarksburg @ Gaithersburg (7:15 p.m. Jan 12), vs. Watkins Mill (7:15 p.m. Jan. 16), vs. Blake (7:15 p.m. Jan. 19)
Seneca Valley @ Wootton (7:15 p.m. Jan. 12), @ Einstein (7:15 p.m. Jan. 16), vs. Walt Whitman (7:15 p.m. Jan. 19)