Fitzgerald comes alive in second half, GW earns Northwest Region berth

Not many sophomores hold themselves to a high standard on the basketball court like George Washington forward Bri Fitzgerald does every night she steps on the court.

So when the sophomore forward only scored three points in the first half against Patrick Henry on Monday night with a berth to the Northwest Region tournament on the line, she knew it was time to play to the level she expects to play at on a nightly basis.

Fitzgerald scored 14 of her team-high 17 points in the second half and the 6-foot forward grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds as GW held off PH, 59-55, on in the Western Valley District tournament third-place game.

GW (15-6) receives the district’s No. 3 seed in the Northwest Region tournament and will play at the second seed from the Cardinal District at a time to be determined Saturday.

“At first, my game was kind of off, but then come toward halftime, I figured my mistakes may cause us to lose,” Fitzgerald said. “I decided to pick up the speed, pick up the pace and try to work hard and help us win this game so we can go to regionals.

“Going to regionals is a major step and a major effort for all of us, especially since we didn’t go last year,” she added. “It makes all of us proud as a whole team.”

The Patriots harassed Fitzgerald in the post most of the first half, limiting her to one made field goal. However, GW junior Khadijah Wilson scored eight of her 12 points in the first half and freshman LaPrecious England added five points (nine in total) as the Eagles used a 16-2 run over the last 5:44 of the first half to lead 28-18 at intermission.

Fitzgerald scored nine points in the third quarter and helped the Eagles build a 39-29 lead with 2:47 left in the quarter.

“We really needed Bri to step up. In the first half she had a little hard time getting things together, but the second half, she told me coming out of the locker room, ‘I’ll be open. Look for me,’” Wilson said. “I got her the ball and I trusted her. She did what she had to do.”

PH (14-9) then started hitting 3-pointers and that opened things up for the Patriots. PH closed the third quarter on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to 42-41 as Jewell Parfitt (13 points) hit an off-balanced 3-pointer at the buzzer.

After the teams exchanged baskets to open the fourth quarter, PH took a 52-48 lead with 4:13 remaining following three straight 3-pointers by Jewell Parfitt and Zaynah Stephens (12 points and hit two of those 3-pointers).

The Patriots were held scoreless over the next three minutes, missing several contested 3-pointers, and trailed 56-52 before Stephens hit three free throws to cut the deficit to one with 35.3 seconds remaining.

“After they got back and took the lead, we played great defense,” GW coach Wayne Shelton said. “They didn’t get another good look at the bucket.”

During the Eagles’ defensive stand, Fitzgerald was able to get going again on the offensive end, scoring three more points and drawing enough defensive looks to get Jamonica Pinkney involved (four of eight points in the final 1:20).

“I felt Jasmine Keeling and Lia Hinds did a good job on her, but she’s such a good player that she was able to get free and get some easy buckets,” PH coach Toree Dunleavy said of Fitzgerald.

“We know she’s a great player and our offense starts with her on the block,” GW coach Wayne Shelton said. “That’s really the first option out of basically everything that we do. We’re trying to get that ball to her on the block and other teams know we want to get it to her on the block, so its not as easy as just coming down and throwing it in there.”

Shakeia Salters led PH with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Jasmine Keeling finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

George Washington 59, Patrick Henry 55

PATRICK HENRY (14-9)

Parfitt 5 1-2 13, Stephens 3 3-3 12, Salters 8 2-4 18, Keeling 4 0-2 8, Millner 2 0-0 4, Minnis 0 0-0 0, Kasey 0 0-0 0, Hinds 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-11 55.

GEORGE WASHINGTON (15-6)

Wilson 6 0-0 12, England 3 2-6 9, Goods 2 1-2 5, Fitzgerald 6 5-9 17, Pinkney 3 2-2 8, Linder 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 0-0 0, Hightower 2 0-1 4, Thacker 0 0-0 0, Dabney 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 10-20 59.

PH  10   8 23 14 — 55

GW 12 16 14 17 — 59

3-Point Goals — PH 5 (Stephens 3, Parfitt 2), GW 1 (England). Total Fouls — PH 21, GW 12. Fouled Out — None.