Steward falls in VISAA title game

They weren’t supposed to win.

​After all, Virginia Academy, Steward’s opponent in the VISAA, Division II basketball tournament championship game Saturday afternoon, had won five consecutive state titles and had every intention of claiming number six.

​The Spartans had other plans, however.

​They knew, of course, that the odds were stacked tall against them. They knew that the Patriots had been ultra-successful over the years playing a national schedule. They knew that this Walter Hamilton-coached squad was top ranked in the latest state poll and the tournament’s No. 1 seed. 

​In their minds, though, those factors only enhanced the narrative. They enabled Coach Kara Bacile’s crew to compete with passion and controlled abandon because they had nothing to lose and oh, so much to game.

​They were, then, unfazed by the challenge, but, alas, there would be no upset.

​The Patriots were just too poised, their offense too fluid, and their defense too staunch at just the right moments.

​When the final horn ended this frenetically contested matchup on the Spartans’ home court, the scoreboard told the tale: Virginia Academy 68, Steward 57.

​“The best thing about our group is that they believe they can win any time they step on the floor, no matter who they’re playing,” Bacile said. “It’s such a powerful thing for them to believe in themselves and believe in each other. 

​“That belief gives you confidence when you get on the floor with teams that might be better than you on paper.” 

​Virginia Academy (Ashburn) set the tone early with 3-pointers by Sydney Moore (26 points) and Claire Kang (13 points), but the Spartans closed to 18-17 after a quarter when Savannah Martin (22 points) connected twice from behind the arc in the final minute.

​The half ended with the Patriots (22-7) clinging to a 27-26 lead and the Spartans (23-7) growing increasingly confident that this could, indeed, be their day.

​During a two minute stretch in the third quarter, as the din created by dueling, passionate student sections echoed off the cinderblock walls, the Patriots increased their one-point lead to 38-30 on Moore’s 3-pointer. Amaya Ramey’s reverse layup, and Kang’s two free throws.

​Never, though, did Bacile call time.

​Instead, she trusted her girls to repair the damage themselves.

​“We had three seniors (Lily Thoman, Ella Grace Saunders, and Brooklyn Kavanaugh) on the floor who had been in our program for four years,” Bacile said. “They read what needed to be done and settled the storm. 

​“Sometimes, overcoaching can get in the way. I didn’t want to get in their way.”

​In the next two minutes, Martin’s bucket from the paint, a layup by Avery Peterson (10 points) off Saunders’ assist, Saunders’ 3-pointer off Thoman’s assist, and Peterson’s free throw pulled the Spartans even at 38 at 2:24 of the third quarter.

​As the pace of action intensified, a 3-pointer by Moore stopped Steward’s 8-0 run. Then, as the quarter ended, Martin drained a 3 off another Thoman assist to cut the Spartans’ deficit to 48-47 entering the fourth.

​“We had confidence in the amount of work we’d put in,” said Thoman, a 5-7 point guard and a U.S. Military Academy commit. “We believed that we were going to win. We knew that they (the Patriots) had the skill, but we had the belief.

​“They made some baskets, but we came down and punched back every single time. It seemed like every time they made an easy bucket, we had to work for our buckets. That in itself made us more confident.”

​The Patriots outscored Steward 22-12 in the fourth quarter but not without earning every single point.

​Their 12-2 run, which ended with Moore’s sixth 3-pointer at 2:22, put Virginia Academy up 60-50.

​Still, the Spartans were playing to win.

​After a dust-up on the court resulted in a technical foul against the Patriots, Thoman (16 points) sank both free throws, then hit a 3-pointer to halve the difference to 60-55 at 1:48, but they could get no closer.

​Virginia Academy’s Evie Weis scored from the paint at 1:32, then fed Moore for a layup at 1:00, forcing the Spartans to foul to regain possession, and Patriots hit 4-of-6 free throws to secure the title.

​“A lot happened good for us,” said Thoman. “Then, the ball literally bounced to her (Moore) under the basket, and that completely changed the momentum.”

​Virginia Academy, which faced a variety of defensive looks including a triangle-and-two on Moore and Ramey, shot 24-of-44 shots including 14-of-21 in the second half. 

​“They threw a lot at us defensively,” said Hamilton. “I thought we stayed poised, even though we had some lulls and mishaps. When it came time, we made some shot and made stops when we needed them.”

​The Spartans, who attacked the Patriots’ man-to-man with resolve, hit 21-of-44 field goal attempts. They collected 24 rebounds and the Patriots 22.

​“The whole thing for us to make sure we left it all on the court,” said Saunders, a 5-10 senior guard who’s been with the program for six years. “We definitely did.

​“Our defense was good, but they hit a lot of shots. What can you do? We did the best we could with what we had.”

​As is often the case in a winner-take-all, runner-up-picks-up-the-pieces finale, the emotion in the Spartans post-game locker room was palpable.

​There were tears aplenty, not just because of the outcome but because the players realized full well that this shared journey had been supremely meaningful.

​“We’re the closest team that I’ve ever been on,” Thoman said. “That’s why you see a lot of emotion in there. We’d do anything for each other. We love each other.”