For the second time in little over a week, the Patrick Henry girls’ basketball team met up with Colonial District rival Mills Godwin when the two teams faced off in the consolation game of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament last Wednesday at the Siegel Center. 

  Though the game did not count in either team’s district record, the Patriots came into the contest looking to even the score against the Eagles who had handed them their first loss of the season.

  In the battle for the TDIT’s third place trophy, the Patriots got off to a slow start but managed to dig themselves out of an early 7-point deficit and turn it into a 4-point lead by the half, 24-28.  But as in their previous game against Godwin, the winds of change turned and once-again Patrick Henry found themselves chasing the Eagles in the third and fourth periods before falling 60-52.

  Regardless of the loss, Patriots’ head coach Leslie Nuckols felt the experience was good for the girls.  “The tournament was a great opportunity for us,” she said.  “Instead of just having practices for the two weeks of winter break, we actually got to play three really competitive games.  The girls enjoyed the feel of the tournament.  Everyone was nice; they got T-shirts, pens and water bottles.  They were just really impressed with the way they were treated.  It was really a great honor to be the only Hanover school to be here.”

  The Patriots reached the consolation game by defeating St. Catherines’ 42-39 in the TDIT opener then falling to Midlothian 56-50 in the second round.

  In the rematch with Godwin, Nuckol’s strategy was two-fold.  “We knew we needed to play really intense defense, and we needed to score more effectively,” she said, pointing out something the team did not do well the previous night.

  “Last night (against Midlothian) we had some issues putting the ball in the basket; and that ailed us again the first quarter today,” Nuckols said. “We missed a lot of shots in the paint.” 

  The majority of the Patriots’ first quarter shots came from Taylor Huber, who threw up nothing but bricks until the second quarter, yet ended the evening with 32 points—one shy of the TDIT single-game record set by Meadowbrook’s Crystal Lawrence in 2005.

  “I thought we played well,” Huber said, contributing the loss to defensive lapses. “We didn’t pick up as well as we should have on our people.  We got a little lost sometimes.  We should play a little bit tougher defense next time.”

  Coming out of the locker room with a four point lead, Patrick Henry appeared to be in good shape to square things up with Godwin but a hot shooting hand from the Eagles’ Sallie Foster proved their undoing.

  “Third quarter we came out and the Foster girl hit an incredible number of 3-pointers,” Nuckols said. “That was difficult to come back from.” 

  Foster, a 5-5 senior, caught the Patriots off guard firing in eight 3-pointers and a career high 27 points by game’s end.  As Foster had only put up three points the previous game, the Patriots had not viewed Foster as a viable threat.

  “The first time I think she only scored two points against us,” said Nuckols. “She was part of our focus, but she wasn’t our main focus.  Now, the next time she’ll be more of a focus.” 

  Huber agreed. “When we played her last time, she wasn’t doing that.  This time was a little bit more of surprise.  We’ll need to put a little more pressure on her next time.”

  Another factor that cannot be overlooked was the absence of the Patriots’ tallest player, six-foot senior center Gracie Schmitt who suffered a season-ending injury when she tore her ACL in the previous meeting with Godwin. 

  “We definitely missed Gracie’s presence on the court,” Nuckols said. “Before she was injured, she was averaging double-digit rebounds; so that’s a lot to make up for. Our height has decreased significantly without her playing, but I think the girls understand what they have to do to make up for that loss, and I think they’re doing a good job.”

  Despite Schmitt’s absence, the smaller Patrick Henry squad came up with a number of rebounds through scrappy play.

  “Trinity Kenney and Katie Anderson are really picking up where Gracie has left off,” Nuckols said. “They understand that they’ve got to be in there boxing out and getting those rebounds.  We want to push the ball down the floor too; and it all starts with the rebound.  So, I think that we’re doing a pretty good job.”

  For Anderson and Huber the press and their breaks worked well.  Were it not the steals and turnovers generated by the Patriots defense, the disparity in scoring would have been much greater.  Certainly the press was a factor when the Patriots chose to run it but due to playing their third game in three days, it was not a complete game option.

  “It’s a stamina thing,” Nuckols said.  “Godwin’s such a great team that once you do the press a couple of possessions, they’re going to eventually break it.  So, it’s something that we only throw out a few possessions.”

  Having already played and lost to the Eagles twice, the Patriots will travel to Godwin on January 22 then possibly meet them once more in the Colonial District Tournament.

  “Maybe this will help us out,” Nuckols said. “The girls should be confident now.  They know that they can play with them, and that we can beat them.  It’s just a matter of us having four good quarters.  They’ve got to stay intense, and stay confident for four quarters.  But, they’re going to get there.  The next time we play them, it will actually affect our district record.  A lot more will be on the line.  It will be at Godwin.  So, they just need to get ready.  But we’ve got a lot of games before that one, so we’ve just got to be focused on what’s ahead.”
 
PATRICK HENRY (4-3)
Huber 32, Anderson 9, T. Pinder 2, J. Pinder 0, Kenney 3, Winston 4, Brim 0, Harris 0, Kody 0. Totals 18 8-16 50.
MILLS GODWIN (5-2)
Shelton 0, Geoghegan 7, Ford 3, Cole 4, Henshaw 0, Molchan 0, Gerndt 0, Foster 27, Withrow 0, Watkins 8, Sisson 13, Stoneburner 0. Totals 20 13-19 62.
Patrick Henry…..... 9 19 11 11 — 50
Mills Godwin ..... 14 10 20 18 — 62
3-point goals: PH — Huber 5, Anderson. MG—Foster 8, Sisson.

MIDLOTHIAN (4-2)
Gallihugh 3, Thompson 10, Pascal 3, Edmunds 2, Dickerson 2, Klement 4, Mathews 22, Warren 10. Totals 19 17-29 56.
PATRICK HENRY (4-2)
Huber 16, Anderson 17, Kenney 3, Winston 8, Brim 6, Harris 0, Kody 0. Totals 18 10-13 50.
Midlothian…....... 12 13 12 19 — 56
Patrick Henry….... 15 15 8 12 —50
3-point goals: M — Gallihugh. PH — Huber 2, Winston 2.

PATRICK HENRY (4-1)
Taylor Huber 19, Katie Anderson 8, Tyler Pinder 0, Jasmine Pinder 0, Trinity Kenney 8, Alesha Winston 7, Caasi Brim 0, Kelsey Harris 0, Kelsey Kody 0. Totals 14 12-22 42.
ST. CATHERINE’S (1-4)
Alexa Anderson 0, Candice Brown 7, Catharine Cain 0, Alexis Crittenden 3, Ali Doswell 5, Meredith Doswell 16, Asja Jenkins 5, Anne Leitch 0, Chaney Manganello 1, Mary Nelsen 2, Sydney Sschreiner 0. Totals 15 7-12 39.
Patrick Henry…....... 7 15 9 11 — 42
St. Catherine’s ........ 6 15 8 10 — 39
3-point goals: PH — Huber 2. St. C — A. Doswell, Jenkins.