After changing their style of play a bit entering the season, it took some time and convincing for the Oakton Cougars players to realize they still would be capable of returning to the postseason region-tournament championship game.
Mission accomplished.
The girls high-school basketball team (22-6) indeed made a second-straight appearance in the 6D North Region tourney final, losing to the Centreville Wildcats, 59-46, in the Feb. 23 title game at South Lakes High School.
Oakton also finished second in last winter’s region tourney.
The approach changes for Oakton this season are a faster-pace and more aggressive offense, including more three-point shooting, and at times a full-court pressing defense.
“The journey was getting the players to believe what I already believed, that they could be good enough to be here again,” Oakton coach Fred Priester told the GazetteLeader after the region final.
Oakton was 2-1 in the region tourney, routing the Yorktown Patriots, 61-31, in the first round, then defeating the Chantilly Chargers, 52-37, in the semifinals. Each of those games were at Oakton.
Against Centreville, Oakton led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter and 17-12 early in the second. From there, two 8-0 second-quarter runs, helped by eight Oakton turnovers in the period, sparked Centreville to a 30-21 halftime lead. The Wildcats led 44-29 after three quarters.
“We played hard and didn’t quit, but we didn’t shoot well and got too far behind to make a comeback,” Priester said. “Centreville has so much talent and they played to it.”
Oakton made just 2 of 11 three-point attempts.
Sophie Toole and Finley Tarr each scored 13 points for Oakton, Brooke Chang had 10, Jocelynn Kinlaw had 11 rebounds and four points and Bailey Zimmerman scored four and had four rebounds and two steals.
Centreville was 3-0 against Oakton this season, winning by one and four points the first two times.
Against Chantilly, Oakton led 24-13 at halftime and was ahead the rest of the game. Oakton began pulling away from Yorktown in the first half.
By finishing second in the region tournament, Oakton earned a berth to play in the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 state tourney for the second year in a row.
Prior to the region tournament, Oakton repeated as the Concorde District tournament champion.
Toole was chosen as a first-team all-region player this season and Tarr made the second team.
