Mustang Girls Down Clark County Eagles, First Place Battle With Strasburg Looms

The George Mason High School girls basketball team withstood a harrying second half from Clarke County to prevail 60-53 and set up a battle with Strasburg to decide first place in the Bull Run District. Like Strasburg, Mason will enter the game a perfect 4-0 in the district, having dispatched Clarke, Manassas Park and Madison County after returning from the holiday break.

The Mustangs played well in the first half, pulling out to a double-digit halftime lead before Clarke pulled closer in the second half. The Eagles used full court pressure to disrupt the Mustang offense. The pressure gave Mason even more problems after junior standout Maggie O’Toole spent significant portions of the half on the bench due to foul trouble and a strained back. But nonetheless, the Mustangs held up to the increased pressure to finish off their division rival.

“We played our best quarter in the second quarter,” Mason Head Coach Dan Wilkie said. “But their coach made adjustments and we have difficulties when teams press us, we tend to crumble a little bit. But we stuck with what we knew how to do and we relaxed. I was really proud of them.”

O’Toole led Mason scorers with 20 points and four rebounds, while freshman Annie Zweighaft tallied 15 points. Senior Alex Pender scored 10 points to go along with five rebounds, while freshman Meredith Hamme scored nine points and pulled down seven boards. Senior Lena Griffin led the efforts on the glass with eight rebounds.

The win followed a victory last Friday against Madison County. “That was a game where everything was just clicking. We came out and we didn’t know what hit them,” Wilkie said of his team’s 17-0 start to the game. “We threw in a new [1-3-1 zone] defense and they didn’t know what to do with it.”

The Mustangs will travel to Strasburg to tip off at 7:45 p.m. this Friday. “It’ll be another tough one, just like this game,” Wilkie said. “All I can ask is that the girls come out and play their game.”

Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com