By Sara Page, Midlothian Exchange

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

View Photo Gallery

The Cosby girls’ varsity basketball team has been the target of teams all season. The group maintained a top ranking in the region from the beginning, so making the Central Region finals – and in pretty convincing fashion – makes the team breath a little easier. But the Lady Titans also know that even after 28 games, their work is just beginning.

Cosby earned their way to Monday night’s Central Region Tournament final with a 66-38 win over Hanover in Thursday’s first semifinal game. The team applied a stifling defense and picked up eight tips and steals in the first quarter alone to keep Hanover’s scoring to a minimum.

“For us [the key] was really our defense and coming out of the gate hard,” junior guard/forward Becca Wann said. “We really wanted to make sure that we got up quick on them, and then whenever they started to make a second push to come back, we would just shut the door, and that’s what we did.”

The Lady Titans created a number of opportunities on offense and took advantage. The team worked the ball inside, keeping junior forward Jazmin Pitts up top to draw the defense out of the middle while Wann and junior guard Andrea Bertrand cut to the middle for open layups. Pitts got in on the action as well, picking up many of her points on rebounds. She snagged nine offensive boards for the Lady Titans.

Cosby continued their dominance in the second quarter, limiting their opponents to just three points.

Still, the Lady Hawks had come back from a 21-point deficit during the season and took the court in the second half looking to make the offense click. Hanover got the ball in the hands of four different players and went on an 11-4 run to end the third quarter. Amanda Wollard got the Hanover crowd back on its feet with a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer.

But if the Lady Titans were ever worried, they never let it show. The team was all smiles as they came out of timeouts.

“For us being focused is not being serious. If we’re not having fun and goofing off a little bit, we’re actually not focused, and that was true tonight,” Wann said. “We were having fun the whole game, so that really helped us.”

Bertrand led the team in scoring with 20 points. Pitts scored a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds and Wann ended the day with 19 points and seven assists. The team combined for 14 steals with Kelsey Conyers picking up four and Ellen Katzman adding three. And for the Lady Titans, earning a spot in the Central Region final took a monkey off their backs.

“It feels good,” Cosby head coach Rachel Mead said. “We took our lumps the first year, and we improved some last year. We won the district which we were real proud of. We thought we could’ve gone farther, but it is what it is and this year, once again, we seem to have a target on our back … My kids have really held their composure and worked through it and just played basketball every game.”

Hanover ends their season at 19-8. Wollard led the Lady Hawks’ semifinal effort with 14 points and Chelsea Coward added nine points and 12 rebounds.

Cosby will meet Atlee – 53-48 winners over Mills Godwin in Thursday’s other semifinal game – in the finals. Winner hosts a first-round game at the Siegel Center Thursday or Friday while the runner-up will be on the road at James W. Robinson, Jr., Secondary School in Fairfax. Cosby, for their part, is trying to stay relaxed about the whole thing.

“We just need to keep our head in the game, keep our composure and just do what we do best. Whatever happens, happens,” Pitts said.