by Josh Averbach ’18

After a two-game losing streak to begin the season, Sherwood rebounded nicely by defeating Watkins Mill and Seneca Valley on December 12 and 14, respectively. However, they fell to undefeated Winston Churchill by the score of 52-43 on December 19.

The Warriors’ win against Seneca Valley, a 60-24 blowout, showcases the positive momentum that the Warriors have built since their early-season skid. The Warriors dominated Seneca Valley from the beginning, opening the game by scoring 13 of the first 15 points, and leading 20-6 after the first quarter. After Sherwood’s initial burst, Seneca Valley was never able to mount a counterattack or halt the Warriors’ momentum.

Sherwood’s win largely came because of their efficient perimeter-oriented offense; many Warrior possessions were punctuated by long jump shots, which frequently found the bottom of the net. The three-point barrage was not unique to a few players, but rather a bevy of Warriors nailed long-distance shots.

“We constantly practice shooting, and when you do that, there are going to be games where the shots just always seem to fall,” said senior Amanda Allen, who scored a team-high 22 points.

Sherwood’s domination was not confined to the offensive end. The Warriors put a damper on Seneca Valley’s offense, often forcing them into difficult shots and turnovers, which often led to easy Warrior baskets. In fact, the Warriors forced Seneca Valley into 27 turnovers, while they turned the ball over only 13 times themselves.

“Defensively, we played hard and had many steals. We gave it our best effort while on the court, and it paid off when we got the win,” said Allen.

Sherwood’s loss to a dominant Winston Churchill team came after a highly competitive duel between the two schools. The Warriors played tenacious defense all game, and led with four minutes remaining in the game. Despite this, Winston Churchill found a way to remain undefeated.

“I do not think this breaks the momentum from the two wins as we played better in this game than at points last week,” said Coach Timothy Hobbs.

The 2-3 Warriors will look to build on their positive strides at home against Gaithersburg on Dec 21, and then at Clarksburg on January 3.