Meridian High School’s girls’ basketball team beat Fauquier 55-28, and the boys beat Maggie Walker 78-37 as both squads advanced in the Regional playoffs on Friday night.
Playoff basketball season is here for the Meridian Mustangs, as both teams locked up the respective No. 1 seeds in their region. The girls entered the night with a record of 18-2, while the boys finished the regular season 16-4. After a week off, both were more than ready to begin their quest for a Regional title.
The girls tipped off first, and left no doubt from the beginning. Bridget Creed scored the first six points and Meridian led 9-2 after a quarter, then extended the advantage to 24-4 at the half. They’d go ahead by as much as 33 in the third period before ultimately winning by 27.
“We made it really hard for them to hit shots,” said head coach Chris Carrico. “Then once we started making ours, it all opened up for us.”
Charlotte Lieu led the girls in scoring with 16, while Creed added 15 and Anisa Frey had 11. Rose Weatherly returned to the starting lineup after a one-game absence.
The boys, meanwhile, faced an unfamiliar matchup in non-District opponent Maggie Walker. After feeling each other out for most of the first quarter, a 28-2 avalanche turned a slim Mustang lead into a blowout as the Mustangs led 48-17 at the half and then extended the margin to 41 in the third quarter, where it remained at the buzzer.
“We did what we needed to do,” head coach Jim Smith said. “We knew they’d have a hard time stopping our offense and we just needed to find a way to contain them.”
Smith gave a shoutout to Mason Pye for leading the effort to establish the tone, as the junior forward had 12 of his game-high 16 in the first half. All four of Meridian’s additional starters joined him in double figures.
The boys caught a break in the bracket, with their top Regional competition in Skyline and Fauquier forced to play each other in the next round while they get set to host Warren County again. The girls weren’t so lucky, as they were rewarded for their efforts with another tilt against the Skyline team responsible for their only two losses. They’ll have to get through the Hawks to punch their ticket to the State Tournament.
Both of those games will be played next Tuesday at home.
