William Monroe’s girls basketball team was getting a lot of the same offensive action going, a lot of the same movement to the basket and a lot of the same looks that they have all season — including two previous wins over George Mason — in Thursday’s Region 3B semifinals.
The ball just wasn’t falling.
“It felt like the lid was on the rim, we missed a lot of lay-ups, missed a lot of free throws,” said William Monroe coach Jess Stafford. “Those small things that you work on every day that typically fall for you didn’t fall.”
In the end, the Dragons simply couldn’t score enough points to take advantage of a sterling defensive effort, falling 38-33 to George Mason to end Monroe’s season.
William Monroe managed to tie the game up at 25-25 midway through the fourth quarter and appeared set to make a surge down the stretch and escape with a win. But then Mason point guard Zoraida Icabalceta stepped up and knocked down a monster 3-pointer with 5:16 to go, part of a 19-point effort by the sophomore.
That put the Mustangs up 28-25, a lead they never relinquished as Monroe’s shooting woes continued down the stretch despite getting several of the defensive stops and turnovers they needed.
“We came out a little but they battled, we’re diving on the floor for loose balls, we’re trapping, double teaming and playing good defense,” Stafford said. “Some nights the ball just doesn’t go in the basket.”
A Chloe Rush putback helped pull the Dragons within three a few minutes after Icabalceta’s bucket, but the Dragons couldn’t knock down a single three all night but her and Ella Weaver’s single fourth quarter bucket were the lone field goals in the fourth. The Dragons got to the line, but would’ve needed to convert at a higher rate than even their excellent 7-for-10 frame at the line to close the gap.
Weaver finished with 14 points to lead the Dragons while Martha Apple notched 11. Mason spent much of the night collapsing two and three players whenever Apple got the ball and played her particularly physically, forcing her into tough shot after tough shot.
The loss ended the prep careers of two key seniors, Katie Beale and Apple. Beale a defensive specialist and Apple, the 2019 Northwestern District player of the year, will be sorely missed next year.
“The two we’re going to lose we’re going to miss,” Stafford said. “Katie is our thermostat, she’s our heartbeat. She’s four-foot-nothing but when she plays she plays big. And Martha, she’s only been here two years but you get close to a kid like that, she’s an amazing human being and pours buckets in.”
