14
Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014
The Journal
www.journalpress.com
Leonard Banks
After a successful season, the athletic future for KGMS center, Jaylen Stepney (center) is promising.
KGMS Foxes boys basketball compete in Culpeper Classic Staff Reports Last week the King George Middle School boys basketball team finished the 2013-2014 winter sports season in a flurry as they traveled to Culpeper five times in six days, while playing in seven games. The week started at FT Binns Middle School versus an undefeated Hawks team. King George battled tough, but came out on the short end of the stick 42-35. Jaylen Stepney led all Fox scorers with 17 points, while Marcus Smith added seven points. On Tuesday King George traveled to Culpeper Middle School and defeated the Cougars, 32-26. Stepney led the Foxes with 17 points, while Cameron Schaub contributed 10 points. On Thursday King George returned to Culpeper Middle for the first round of the Culpeper Classic Basketball Tournament versus cross-town rival Walker Grant.
The Foxes defeated Walker, 43-28 and dominated the game from the opening tip, as they opening up a 34-8 lead. Stepney led the team with 21 points, while Tyler Johnson added eight points. Hunter Padgett also contributed seven points. On Friday, the Foxes traveled to Culpeper High School to take on Culpeper Middle School, and despite a double digit lead by Culpeper, the Foxes came up short, 32-26. Stepney led all Fox scoring with 13 points, while Smith added seven points. Schaub also scored four points for the Foxes. On Saturday, King George returned to Culpeper Middle School to play Caroline in the third round of the tournament. The Foxes led from the opening tipoff, and secured a 4729 victory to move on to round four of the tournament. Stepney finished the game with 21 points, while Johnson added eight points. Also, Padgett contributed six points. During round four, the Foxes
battled Walker Grant again. Despite foul trouble for Stepney and Johnson, King George held on to the lead with contributions for the entire team, and won 45-41. Stepney led all scorers with 24 points. Round five was the Foxes third game of the day and it was evident as they ran out of gas against Culpeper. KG led at the half 19-17, and closed it to 3230 with a minute left, but couldn’t pull it off, as they eventually lost, 42-36. Stepney led the way with 14 points, while Johnson added nine points. Stepney also averaged 12 rebounds a game in the tournament, and six blocks per game. King George finished third out of the top eight teams (FT Binns, Culpeper, Louisa, Walker Grant, Buford, Caroline, Prospect Heights) in the Culpeper Classic. The Foxes currently boast a record of 13-8 for the season with their final two games at Locust Grove Feb. 4, and at KGMS vs. Culpeper and Feb. 6, coming up this week.
Leonard Banks
Courtland center, Kiara Williams (center) battles for a loose ball against a gang of Fox defenders.
Courtland varsity overwhelms KG Foxes Leonard Banks Sports editor After pulling off a game-saving three-pointer from sophomore Kayla Demps with no time on the clock, to defeat King George 47-45 in December, the Courtland Cougars left no doubt during their second battle against their conference rival that they came to play. In fact, the Cougars outscored the Foxes in each of the four quarters to eventually win, 48-32. In light of the Cougars’ success over the last two seasons, there is a good reason that they are the defending Battlefield District and Regional champions. “I was very happy with my team’s intensity in the game,” Courtland girls varsity head coach Laura Gast said. “We have missed a lot of practice due to snow and I really liked how they responded in the game and it was great to get back to playing basketball. The girls rebounded well and stepped up their defensive pressure.” The not-so-hidden intangible was Cougar center, Kiara Williams, who overpowered the Foxes post forwards with 14 points, and a team-high 16 rebounds. Overall, the Cougars dominated the boards with
48 rebounds. Williams’ teammate, Demps added 16 points, including three 3-pointers. As for the Foxes, Kanysha Reynolds led the team with 10 points, while Elissa Davis added seven points. Later during the week, the Foxes suffered a non-district loss to Caroline, 58-32, but bounced back to defeat Fauquier, 62-50. As for the Cougars, their success over the Foxes was short-lived, as they lost two games in row to Massaponax (49-37), and Chancellor (82-52). On Friday, the Foxes will have their hands full against conference leading Chancellor (8-0, 15-3), while the Cougars attempt to hold on to their second place seeding with an away game against Mountain View, on Wednesday. King George is currently in fourth place in the 4A North Conference 22 standings. Davis attempted to set the tone at the start of the game with a 3-pointer from beyond the arc; however, the Cougars quickly responded by establishing dominance over the post zone, courtesy of Williams. Along with scoring eight points in the quarter, Williams dictated and ruled both sides of the court with offensive and defensive rebounds. The Foxes’ opening 4-0 rally was quickly diminished, as Courtland
responded with an even exchange of scores that led to a 22-16 lead with less than a minute and a half remaining in the half. The Cougars closed out the period on the foul line, as they scored three out of five shots. At the end of two quarters, the Cougars led, 25-18. In the third quarter, with a focus on Melody Buckley, and Williams, the Cougars extended their lead to 36-22. Kyra Samuel closed out the period with a 3-pointer. During the final quarter, the Foxes utilized their press defense, as they desperately tried to battle their way back into the game. However, the Cougar defense led by Williams never let up, and the clock ticked away the Foxes’ chances for a rally.
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A Courtland defender attempts to steal the ball from the out-stretched arms of KGHS junior varsity center, Micala Peterson.
Foxes JV edge Cougars Leonard Banks Sports editor
21 18
Courtland vs. King George The first quarter can best be described as a battle of ball possession, with a focus placed on establishing execution and board dominance. Although the Cougars held the advantage in rebounds, the Foxes defense created a vacuum of turnovers that resulted in 18 exchanges and a 2-2 deadlock. Peterson carried the team on her back in the second quarter, as she scored four points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out one assist. In spite of the Cougars rebounding advantage, the Foxes made it difficult for Courtland’s guards to move the ball up the court. However, with 21 seconds on the clock, Cougar guard, Sara D’addo scored a jumper from the corner for Courtland’s only
points of the period. Trailing 8-4, and with a limited offense, the Cougars entered the second half with the task of developing some form of scoring. In the final three and half minutes, the Cougars methodically chipped away at the Foxes six point deficit to eventually tie the game (13-13) on an assist from Alicia Jacobs to D’addo. The fourth quarter was a battle of forwards, Keily Johnson, and Peterson. With 3:27 left in the game, Johnson gave the Cougars an 18-17 lead, after scoring a 3-pointer. However, the Foxes quickly responded with Peterson dashing down the court to score on a fast break. Later, with just over a minute remaining in the game, Foxes guard, Madison Morgan sealed the game with a layup, giving King George the win (21-18).
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The Foxes junior varsity girls are in sync. The last time the Cougars faced the Foxes in a junior varsity basketball matchup, at the Foxes Foxes JV Den the Cougars came up short, 35-22. Last Tuesday, in the Cougars Den, the end results were the same, Cougar JV as the Foxes behind Micala Peterson defeated Courtland, 21-18. The low scoring game featured Peterson dominating the boards at both ends of the court, while creating scoring opportunities that eventually led to a Courtland loss. The conference win has moved the Foxes closer to a potential junior varsity championship berth. Currently, the Foxes are 11-5 in the
4A Conference 22 standings. During the week they split wins with Caroline (44-29), and Fauquier (38-14).
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