Entering Friday night, the Meridian High School girls’ basketball team was responsible for the only loss of the season for their Northwestern District rivals, the Brentsville Tigers. After a dominant 45-27 victory in Nokesville, they’re now responsible for their only two losses.
Fresh off administering a 91-6 beatdown against Manassas Park on Tuesday, the Meridian Mustangs were already riding high heading into their 17th game of the season. But their performance on the road to end the week may have been even better, against an opponent who gave them trouble in a 37-27 dogfight back on January 9.
This time, the Mustangs left no doubt. An early 9-0 run gave them an 11-2 lead out of the gates, with Rose Weatherly hitting multiple three-pointers in the first quarter and Bridget Creed dominating in the paint. The advantage remained nine after a period, as well as at the halftime break as Meridian led 26-17.
Brentsville briefly got back within six, but the Mustangs used another scoring run to go ahead 33-20 after three and then scored the first six points of the final frame to take their largest lead of the night. It was a pure clinic defensively, as has been the story of the girls’ season, and they never let off the gas en route to winning by 18.
“This was our best game all year,” head coach Chris Carrico said postgame. “We imposed our will. Even after they ramped up the pressure, we were able to keep scoring layups.”
Creed led the way with 20, doing it all on both ends, while Weatherly chipped in with 12. The win came despite the absence of starter Aldyn Friesen, who is dealing with a rib injury.
The Mustangs improve to 16-1, with only one week remaining in their regular season. They’ll stay on the road to face Warren County on Tuesday, before returning home to play Liberty on Wednesday and then Skyline on Friday, the only team to defeat the girls this year.