This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Robinson Girls Defeat Bulldogs in Comeback

Green and Hansen clutch down the stretch for Rams to steal lead and take the win, 56-46

The No.2 seed Robinson Rams from the Concorde District visited the No.1 seed Stone Bridge Bulldogs from the Liberty District Wednesday night for a quarterfinal matchup between teams that mirror each other in many ways. Each has guard who can drain 3-ponters with the best of them. Each has a powerful yet athletic post presence. And each team desperately covets the Northern Regional banner to hang in its gymnasium.

The fans from both teams got their money’s worth as they saw both defensive and offensive battles but only one lead change. And unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Tyler Hansen and Dhyamond Crenshaw both got hot in the final four minutes for the Rams, leading their team to the semifinals against T.C. Williams later Friday with a 56-46 win.

The Bulldogs led Robinson for three-and-a-half quarters, but in the final five minutes the Rams gained momentum behind aggressive offense from Megan Green and Crenshaw, who rolled in back-to-back layups. Green followed suit, sinking four in a row to put the Rams ahead 49-40 with 1:40 left in the game.

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Stationwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hansen got hot in the fourth and while hitting only one bucket from the field, she knocked down seven free throws to give her nine points on the night and put the game out of the Bulldogs’ reach.

“We came into this game knowing it was not going to be our last,” Hansen said. “For me as long as [my shot] is straight, I know it’s not mechanical, and I self-correct during the game.

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Stationwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stone Bridge opened up the game with a 9-3 run and looked to be in top form. Nicole Prince went 2-for-5 for seven points and three boards while Maurielle Tiernan shot 50 percent from the field for her 13 points to control the tempo in the post.

Yet Green and Crenshaw rallied their team for a comeback in the third quarter to climb back into the contention. Lauren Denham hit a couple deep jumpers for four of her 11 points and cut the Bulldog lead to 27-23.

Lauren Denham shot 3-for-9 for 11 points and Crenshaw, who went 3-for-6 for seven points, found their way through the Bulldog full-court press with deep passes for fast break layups, and the Rams continued to nip at the Bulldogs’ heels. They trailed by two heading to the fourth.

Robinson changed up its defense and fronted Tiernan for the rest of the game down low. The Prince sisters could not get her the ball and unforced turnovers became a big problem for the remainder of the game.

“[Tiernan] is a great player and was dominating us in the first half, so we tried to make them force a better pass and it worked out in our favor because they couldn’t do it,” Green said.

Green went on a tear in the final five minutes and hit nine of Robinson’s 26 free throws to give her a game-high 17 points.

Crenshaw and Hansen did a nice job bottling up the paint as the Prince sisters tried to sneak through. Senior Kayleigh Guzek shot with accuracy for Stone Bridge going 4-for-6 for 11 points, but it would not suffice as the Rams pulled ahead and would not look back.

“We have that team unity that we don’t want to lose. We are playing for our leaders and our coach,” Green said. “We probably shoot 50 free throws each in practice because that is what’s going to win games.

Rams coach T.J. Dade said his defense came through in the second half and though he has not seen his next opponent, the T.C. Williams Titans, play, he has heard of its great reputation and talent.

“I think our defensive stability put pressure on them and take Cori Prince out of the game,” Dade said. “I saw [T.C. Williams] early in the season and they are very aggressive, athletic and is going to be a test for us because we haven’t played a team that athletic yet.”

The Rams play at home against T.C. Williams in the semifinal on Friday at 6 p.m.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Fairfax Station