The Hanover girls basketball team maintained their hold on third place in the Capital District race with a 50-31 win over visiting Atlee (4-11, 2-6 Capital) on Friday night. The Hawks’ pressure defense virtually shut down the Raider offense completely; keeping them scoreless in the first quarter then limiting the Atlee scoring to a single player until over a minute into the third period.
  “We came out, really played well defensively in the first quarter,” said Hanover head coach Kevin Brooks. “I thought we played well defensively for the most part the whole game.”

  The Hawks (10-6, 7-2) concentrated their efforts on shutting down Steff Staples, who is clearly Atlee’s biggest offensive threat. Brooks assigned April Langford to the task and she held Staples scoreless until 6:40 before halftime.
  “I thought April did a tremendous job on Steff Staples,” Brooks said. “It’s one of those things you put her in and she starts and you tell her what her assignment is and she still performs offensively.”

  Hanover created turnovers and came away with nearly 20 steals in the game, led by a game-high seven from senior Brook Throckmorton.

  Meanwhile the Hanover offense methodically went to work. Taylor Woolard scored on a put-back basket 15 seconds into the game then Erica Hess added to the lead less than a minute later. Four straight points from Rachel Fehl (10 points, 8 rebounds) were followed by a three from Erica Barrett and a pair of free throws by Sydni Carey (8 points, 8 rebounds) to give the Hawks a 13-0 lead at the end of one.

  The Hawks’ lead reached 17-0 before Staples got Atlee on the board with back to back baskets and a free throw for a mini Raider run, but Hanover responded with a 12-3 run of their own.

  A Lynnse Caler free throw was followed by a jumper from Fehl, a three from Throckmorton and a basket by Carey. Barrett added a free throw and Woolard came away with a steal and layup. A free throw from Carey made the score Hanover 29, Staples 8 at the half.

  Atlee’s inability to score was clearly evident in the final stats. Staples finished with 19 points, the rest of the Raiders team had 12.

  Due to attrition, first year head coach LaTanya Collins guides a Raider squad that is extremely young and inexperienced. But despite the lack of developed skills, Collins has utilized the one weapon that is available every night- defense. Though ball handling and shooting may have been lacking against the Hawks, defensive effort was not. The scrappy Raiders proved to be a constant nuisance to Hanover, so much so that despite lack of scoring Atlee played the Hawks even in the second half. Foremost was the effort of Jamari Blackwell, who plays with one speed- ultra fast. At times Blackwell appeared to be in six places at once and did not allow Hanover any relief.  Her drive was picked up by her teammates.

  The win was Hanover’s third over a four day stretch. The Hawks handled Henrico on Tuesday then came back to edge host J.R. Tucker on Wednesday. With a 7-2 Capital District record, Hanover now trails second place Varina by a game.

  For Brooks, nothing has changed with his team near the top of the league this season. “I think we come to practice every day and prepare for the next one and take each day for what it is,” he said. “One of the things we talked about is establishing our standards and playing to our standards. The standard is the standards so to speak.”

  The coach is most proud of the team’s resiliency. “We’ve battle some injuries and battled some adversity and people have found a way to step up and perform at various times and when their numbers been called they’ve really taken too,” he said. “They’ve believed in each other and helped each other to get wins. I’m excited about how they played.”

  Haleigh Omohundru finished with eight rebounds for the Hawks.
HANOVER 50, ATLEE 31
ATLEE (4-11, 2-6 Capital) — Staples 19, Mullen 0, Matthews 0, Hill 3, Smith 2, Blackwell 2, Baldacci 2, Walker 0, Cox 0, Mueller 0, Gordon 1. Totals 9 12-24 31.
HANOVER (10-6, 7-2)— Woolard 2, Barrett 4, Throckmorton 6, Caler 3, Sills 1, Fehl 10, Omohundro 4, Lankford 6, Carey 8, Hess 4, Belcher 2. Totals 15 15-30 50.
Atlee….................... 0   8 10 13 — 31
Hanover…............ 13 16 11 10 — 50
3-point goals— A: Hill; H: Throckmorton 2, Barrett, Fehl.
Highlights — H: Brooke Throckmorton 7 steals, Rachel Fehl 8 rebounds, Sydni Carey 8 rebounds, Haleigh Omohundru 8 rebounds.