Cougars Win Nail-Biter to Advance to State Final

The Oakton High girls basketball team will head to the AAA Virginia High School League title game for the second time in four years after defeating Woodside High 46-43 in the semifinal Wednesday at the Siegel Center in Richmond. 

Though the Cougars (31-0) and Wolverines (28-2) would spend most of the game neck-and-neck, the game started at a much different pace. The Wolverines went on a 6-0 run to start the game, and continued their dominance for the rest of the period to outscore the Cougars 16-8. 

"The biggest thing in a big game like this is hoping that the nerves just don't eat you up at the beginning," Priester said. "To the girls' credit, they didn't really panic. We were still trying to run offense ... Generally, we didn't take a lot of bad shots."

The Cougars picked up their pace in the second period with a 10-2 run within the first three minutes to tie the game at 18. Adreinne Motley, who scored a game-high 26 points for the Wolverines, broke the tie both times the Cougars caught up in the period to give her team a 22-20 advantage heading into halftime. 

After halftime, the Cougars scored first with a layup from Elizabeth Manner about 90 seconds in, but the Wolverines took the lead again with a made foul shot from Alexis Bell.

The Cougars took their first lead of the game after a jump shot from Angela Sickels with 5:08 on the clock. The Wolverines tied it up 15 seconds later, but another layup from Manner put the Cougars ahead again — a lead they maintained through the rest of the period, with much credit to the Caroline Coyer and Katherine Coyer, who scored back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch their lead to eight. 

The Wolverines crawled their way back to tighten the point gap, though, leaving the score at a tight 35-31 in the Cougars' favor heading into the fourth period.

Though Motley scored 12 points in the first period, the Cougars held her to four in the second and two in the third — both of which turned out to be the Wolverines' lowest scoring periods of the game. 

"[Motley] just had a great game," Priester said. "I feel like, you know, there were times when they looked to her too much and I felt like it was an opportunity for us to continue to spread it around."

The fourth period showcased the two teams fighting tooth and nail in the most pressure-filled eight minutes for both teams this season. The score tied three times and the lead changed six times in the period.

With a minute left on the clock, Manner put the Cougars one point ahead at 44-43 with a layup. The Wolverines had possession of the ball with 20 seconds left, but All-Concorde District Defensive Player of the Year Katherine Coyer stole the ball to give the Cougars a chance to maintain the lead. 

"We knew we had to get a stop, so everyone was just up on their kid," Katherine Coyer said. "Luckily I was the one who got to make the play but it could have been anyone."

Caroline Coyer, the Northern Region Player of the Year, netted two free throws after being fouled with 11 seconds remaining to give the Cougars a 46-43 advantage. The Wolverine offense set themselves up at the other end of the court quickly, allowing Motley to get off a 3-point shot just before the buzzer, but it didn't sink.

"It's a shame someone has to lose a game like that, but we're happy that it wasn't us," Priester said.

The 46-43 victory pits Cougars against Princess Anne (Virginia Beach), who has proven to be their kryptonite in their previous two matchups in state tournament play, to vie for the championship crown at the Siegel Center on Friday. 

But Princess Anne graduated their 6'3", Duke University-signed post powerhouse Elizabeth Williams last year, which will likely yield a different style of play for the two squads. 

"We're just going to come out like it's another game," Katherine Coyer said. "The fact that it's Princess Anne again isn't necessarily in our mind, it's just who we're playing. As long as we have a good practice tomorrow and do what we need to do and stay disciplined and stay focused on Friday then it'll be a good game."

Cougar Fans Show Busloads of Support

The Siegel Center oozed with Cougar pride Wednesday night, with more than 140 students in attendance along with parents, family friends and other fans. 

The school organized a bus caravan to travel from Oakton to Richmond on Wednesday afternoon, and three busloads full of fans took advantage of the $20 ride that also provided each fan with a "Fear Fred" T-shirt. 

Some of the spring sports teams, already in practices and scrimmaging, voted to endure early-morning practices today in order to attend the girls basketball semifinal matchup against Woodside High.  

"We had a lot of support. Our administration is so supportive; our faculty is so supportive," Priester said. "We're happy that we could get this win for them and give them another couple days to be excited."

Coach Fred Priester, who said he was amused by the T-shirts bearing his picture, assured media outlets he's not as scary as the students seem to think. 

"I'm kinda used to them making a little fun of me," Priester said. "I might seem fearsome but I'm really just a big teddy bear."

Facebook users can see the full press conference with Priester and the Coyer twins on GameDay's fan page.