Lady Mustangs Move onto Semifinals After 30-Point Win

RICHMOND - By Stephanie Cheney’s standards, she and her teammates started off slow in Saturday’s Virginia High School League quarterfinal game against 2011 Group A state championship runner ups Sussex Central.

George Mason defeated the Tigers 66-36 and will move onto play Glenvar Thursday night at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center after getting out to a 39-20 lead at the half.

“For our team, we have a few players that go out and get the momentum going,” Cheney said.

One of those players was Katie Goodwin. Goodwin scored 10 of Mason’s 12 bench points in the game. Cheney said Goodwin has gained the respect of her teammates as a freshman and will only get better.

LaBryan Thomas, head coach for the Mustangs, said Goodwin is a good player who can come off the bench, score and grab rebounds. He said this has been his toughest trip to the semifinals for the Mustangs in recent years. This season, the Mustangs suffered their first Bull Run District loss in four seasons and then lost in the Region B championship to Stuarts Draft.

“Anytime you can get a quarterfinal win it’s a good thing for your team,” Thomas said. “The team effort was great.”

Sussex Central star Tatyana Calhoun battled in the paint against the Mustangs, scoring 18-points. Thomas said he knew she was a great player and Mason needed to make sure she wouldn’t be a factor.

“We didn’t know what to expect because we didn’t get much information on them,” Thomas said.

With a game under their belt inside the Siegel Center, Thomas and his team feel comfortable. The lights, sounds and view won’t bother them as much now.

Lauren Kane said she did what she had to do to make sure she will be ready to play Thursday night.

“I had to get a shot off to get used to it,” she said.

FREE THROWS

Cheney and Kane each scored 23-points and senior Leah Roth added 6-points.