Wolverines struggle in Second Half en Route to 60-32 Loss

Youth and inexperience has been a difficult barrier to overcome for the West Potomac Wolverines throughout the regular season.

In the first round of the Patriot District girls tournament Tuesday night, the seventh-seeded Wolverines succumbed to the same problems, resulting in a 60-32 defeat against the second-seeded South County Stallions.

The Wolverines came out aggressive, but were unable to keep it going after halftime when the Stallions took a commanding lead at 54-27 after three quarters, holding West Potomac to just three points in the quarter.

 “The difference in the second half was that South County came out more aggressive and physical, and my team shied away from it,” Wolverines coach Terry Newton said. 

Much of the Wolverines inability to stay consistent in the second half of games can be attributed to the team’s youth. The Wolverines do not have a senior on their roster.

“I commend my kids and tip my hat to them,” Newton said. “We’re asking ninth graders and sophomores to play at a varsity level. I have nine underclassmen on this team, and they’ve got a lot to learn.”

One of those underclassmen, sophomore shooting guard Blossom Pierre, was able to cause the Stallions trouble, scoring a game-high 14 points. She scored eight of her team’s 14 second-quarter points.

“I really tried to get our team ready for the game,” said Pierre, “and I think in the first and second quarters we played aggressive.”

The Wolverines were within nine points at halftime, 32-23, but the game slipped away in the third quarter as South County scored 22 points, holding West Potomac to just three. With such a young Wolverines team and a first-year coach at the helm, West Potomac has had trouble so far finding the qualities needed to be consistent.

“In any game we’ve lost, we played well in the first half,” Newton said. “But when they come out [in the second half], teams make adjustments and get more physical, but my team is just not used to it. While other teams match physical with physical, we’re more of a finesse ballclub.”

The Stallions offense and defense clearly fed off each other, and the combination took over the game for the home team.

“Since our offense was so energized, it created a lot of defensive stops and got us more energetic defensively,” Caitlyn McLaughlin said. “When we play defense, then we do good on offense and it kept the game balanced for us.”

Despite the second half struggles, the Wolverines worried South County’s coach throughout the first half. Their early physicality proved they have the ability to cause problems for opponents if they can keep the momentum in the second half.

“That’s the thing about tournament time,” said Stallions coach Chrissy Kelly. “They’re not here to lay down and let you walk all over them. They’re here to win. They worked very hard on both ends of the floor, and we ended up having to wake up during halftime to understand that.”