Oakton eliminates Atlee girls

FAIRFAX -- Early this season, someone in the Atlee High locker room started singing a country song. It turned out they all knew the words, and by the time the whole team was singing, the Raiders had an unofficial theme song.

Atlee's season ended yesterday with a 74-45 loss to Oakton in the Group AAA quarterfinals at Robinson Secondary School.

The music hasn't stopped.

"I think they over-achieved," Raiders coach Anna Prillaman said. "And I think once the smoke clears and they get over this loss, they'll look back on the season very fondly."

The trip home was long enough that senior Sydney Henderson thought maybe they'd sing that sappy Rascal Flatts song, "Bless the Broken Road," at least once more.

After all, they weren't the first to lose to Oakton. The Cougars are on an undefeated run at a state title, and Atlee was the 29th team to fall.

And it wasn't as if they hadn't fought hard. The Raiders scored first and battled for the lead through most of the first quarter.

Then, Oakton senior forward Erin McGartland made a 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter, and the Cougars took over. Henderson scored 13 in the first quarter, including nine on 3-pointers -- one from the top of the key, then from the right and then just to the left.

"We were playing really hard, talking to teach other," Henderson said. "And then . . . once the other team started hitting shots, the momentum changed. We just stopped communicating with each other, and we didn't do what we did in the first quarter."

Henderson was scoreless in the second quarter as Oakton opened a 10-point lead going into halftime.

Oakton double-teamed senior center Richelle Price, holding her to two field goals in the first half.

McGartland became a force around the basket, pulling in 16 rebounds to go with her 16 points and six assists. Outside, the Cougars' shooters found their rhythm. The shots that had been falling for Henderson weren't, and Oakton dropped five field goals from 3-point range in the third quarter.

"When a team shoots that well and plays that good of a tough man-to-man defense, it's very tough to beat," Prillaman said. "I was very impressed with their fundamental -- just how fundamental they were."

The Cougars play Lake Taylor in the semifinals for a spot in the Group AAA championship.

"This team doesn't really carry that [undefeated record] around like a blanket or anything like that," Oakton coach Fred Priester said. "We don't talk about it very much. We had another team that was 25-0 and then got upset in the region a couple years back. We actually had all those kids write e-mails to our kids to tell them how that felt. . . . So we're delighted to beat a good team like Atlee, and we're delighted to move on. No cheapies, no cheapies in the state tournament, and they get even harder every time."

ATLEE (24-5)

Townes 0, Hill 13, Taylor 0, Spiers 0, S. Henderson 15, T. Henderson 4, Price 13, Ashcraft 0, Dandridge 0, Eberle 0. Totals 17 8-15 45.

OAKTON (29-0)

Cahill 0, C. Coyer 21, K. Coyer 6, Mahony 3, Cummins 0, Borojeni 4, McGartland 16, Johnson 6, Lyles 0, Stephenson 18, Matthes 0. Totals 26 12-14 74.
Atlee ------------------------- 15 13 9 8 -- 45
Oakton ------------------------- 16 22 20 16 -- 74

3-point goals: A -- S. Henderson 3. O -- Stephenson 4, C. Coyer 3, McGartland, Borojeni.