The Meridian Girls basketball team came away with a 54-43 win Monday night, while the boys fell 55-51 as they played host to the Herndon High School Hornets. Last week’s snow wiped out multiple basketball contests for the Meridian Mustangs, so both the boys and the girls were eager to get back on the court.
The girls opened the doubleheader up at just past 5:30 as Ellie Friesen hit a three on the opening possession to kickstart a 7-0 run out of the gates for the home team. However, Herndon was able to cut it to 14-11 after a quarter and further tied the game early in the second period. In a game of runs, Meridian fired back with another a run of their own to surge to a 25-21 lead at halftime. A couple early threes after the break gave the Mustangs their biggest advantage of the night at 32-24 before Herndon went on a 10-2 run of its own to tie things up at 34 apiece. Meridian proceeded to score 13 straight spanning the end of the third and beginning the fourth quarter.
The 13-0 scoring run proved enough to put the game away as the Mustangs came out with a 54-43 victory, improving their record to 10-4. Friesen’s 19 led the way while freshman Charlotte Lieu added 14 and Mo Tremblay had 13. The girls will be back on the court Tuesday night as they visit Liberty-Bealeton.
A short intermission ensued before it was the boys’ turn to take the court, and this one would be more challenging. Herndon came out firing from deep while the Mustangs struggled to shoot. Trailing by one after a quarter, the Hornets scored eight straight points to give them a 24-17 advantage early in the second period just after Meridian had taken the lead. The Mustangs would trail for the bulk of the game but were able to keep things close as they used their aggressive defense to force a handful of turnovers. John Lyman sank a three-pointer to tie things up early in the fourth at 43 all.
From there the Mustangs failed to convert the turnovers into a lead and fell behind by four in the final minute. The Mustangs forced a final turnover with a shot to tie it after Grant Greiner made a late layup but were ultimately unable to convert and it became a free throw battle from there. Herndon escaped with the 55-51 win. Greiner and Jarrett Jardine each had 15 as they tried their best to carry the load, but Meridian finished 2-for-17 from behind the arc. Standout point guard Daylen Martino remains out with an injury. Meridian is hopeful he could return as soon as this week when the Mustangs take on reigning regional champion Skyline on Thursday.
The boys also have a quick turnaround as they will be back in action as they face off against Liberty on Tuesday night.
