Saxons End Statesmens' Liberty Title Hopes

It wasn’t the ending they were hoping for. After one of the most successful seasons in the school’s history, the George C. Marshall High School girls basketball team’s quest for its first district title since the early 1980’s came to an end at the hands of the Langley Saxons Thursday night, 62-56.

It was the second loss to Langley in as many weeks for Marshall, as a fast transition game led to the Statesmen’s undoing. “They had some quick outlets that really took the wind out of our sails,” Marshall Head Coach Noel Klippenstein said. “We fought back and made it tough on them, but it really felt like the game before [a 59-50 loss Feb. 10]. We put up a valiant effort but it wasn’t effective against that tough Langley defense.”

The Lady Statesmen closed out the year with a loss in the opening round of the Regional tournament on Monday night, falling to Hayfield, the No. 2 seed from the Patriot District 73-56.

“At the beginning of the year we scrimmaged them and lost by one point, so we felt it would be a really good game,” Klippenstein said. “The game Monday was much different.”

With the Hayfield defense focused on shutting down senior forward Anna Steg, senior Kaitlyn Johnson stepped up her game to score 23 points for the Statesmen. Amanda Brown, held scoreless in a 16-point first half for Marshall, finished the game with 12 points. Steg was held to eight points, while senior Caryl Spoden scored nine.

The Lady Statesmen came out strong in the second half, opening the third quarter on a 9-0 run, but they couldn’t sustain their momentum for the duration.

Marshall closes the season with a record of 18-7. Besides Langley, the only other Liberty District team to top the Statesmen this year was W.T. Woodson (who topped Marshall 73-34 Feb. 8).

The school farewells seniors Steg, Johnson, Spoden and Christina Allbee. Steg, named to the first team for both the Liberty District and the region, looks to continue her senior season success (14 double-doubles) next year at Longwood University, while Johnson (honorable mention in the Liberty District) is all but set to play at St. Mary’s College in Maryland.

Spoden, also and honorable mention in the district, will attend Purdue University for pilot’s training. Allbee, a three-letter athlete in volleyball, basketball and soccer will head to Georgia Tech where she will participate in advanced science studies.

Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com