DOVES TAKEN DOWN BY D.C.’S BEST

by Derek Toney

H.D. Woodson High girls’ basketball team arrived late for its game against Western Friday night. By the fourth quarter, the Doves probably couldn’t wait for them to leave.

The two-time defending D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association champs stormed past Western, 55-41, in the 11th annual Baltimore-Washington Challenge. The cities are even through two games as Poly rallied late to defeat Theodore Roosevelt Friday evening.

Senior guard Patrice Johnson, who has signed to play for Coppin State College next season, led all scorers with 15 points for H.D. Woodson (3-0), and junior guard Bernisha Pinkett contributed 10. Junior guard Akeema Richards had 13 points, four assists and nine steals for the Doves (0-1).

Leading 28-22 at intermission, H.D. Woodson outscored the defending Baltimore City titlists, 21-6, in the third period for a 21-point advantage. The Doves committed 27 turnovers in losing their first home game in more than two seasons.

“We had too many turnovers,” said Richards. “I think it was just the jitters for everybody. The first game is something you get over.”

“It was very sloppy. We didn’t that get that style of game in our scrimmages and I’ll take the blame for that,” said Western coach Tiffany Silver. “It’s our first game of the season and their third or fourth game. We had sparks of brilliance which reflects our age.”

The Doves got caught playing into Woodson’s up-tempo pace. Silver said she wanted to force the visitors into a halfcourt game as the DCIAA doesn’t have a shot clock. Richards said lack of concentration was Western’s biggest struggle.

“We needed to have better mental focus instead of worrying about the physical part,” said Richards. “It’s 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical for basketball.”

Western set the pace in the early stages with an 8-3 advantage, but H.D. Woodson went a 23-4 run to take a 26-12 lead in the second quarter. The Doves responded with 10 straight points, capped by a basket from junior forward Asia Bailey to close to within four.

“We knew they were going to play man-to-man, so we were able to adjust and switch up to a 2-3 zone,” said H.D. Woodson coach Frank Oliver Jr. “We had a lot of fouls early on our key players, but our bench maintaining that lead going into halftime.”

The annual challenge concludes at Lake Clifton Saturday with four boys’ game. Defending City champ Northwestern will play Anacostia at 1 p.m. followed by H.D. Woodson and Mervo. Host Lake Clifton plays Dunbar (D.C.) and defending DCIAA champ Cardozo meets Dunbar in the finale at 7 p.m.

The Doves will look to rebound next weekend at the Breezy Bishop Classic. Richards said the Doves will put Friday’s debut behind them.

“We have heart, that’s all I can think of,” said Richards, who scored 10 points in the second half. “It wasn’t a pretty game.”

Baltimore-Washington Challenge
H.D. Woodson 55, Western 41
H.D. Woodson: Green 2, Pinkett 10, P. Johnson 15, Rainsford 8, J. Johnson 8, Cayard 8, Stewart 2. Totals 21 9-12 55.
Western: Foreman 1, Richards 13, Hicks 4, Bailey 2, Gregg 5, Ade 9, Bell 7. Totals 17 6-15 41. Halftime: H.D. Woodson 28, Western 22.