NOVA's Julia Terrell (#23) lifts a shot near the 3 point line in the first half versus TCC.

The NOVA women’s basketball team lost a tough game, 53-51 to Tidewater Community College in the finals of the Virginia Community College System tournament in Roanoke. The team only scored two points in the last eleven minutes in the March 14 game at Virginia Western Community College.

The disappointing loss marked the career end for two year starters Karla Cortes, Julia Terrell and Kristin Dukes. Though these players ended their NOVA careers on a losing note, over the last two years their teams had fine 16-8 and 14-7 records.

After the TCC game, first-year Coach Wayne Vincent recalled the hard work that the team had expended, starting in June when this team first came together, playing in a summer league, starting practice, beginning the season in early November, surviving five weeks without a game in January and February and only starting play again until now. He concluded by saying, “I am so very proud of this team.”

This game marked the third game of the year between these two teams, with TCC ending up the victor in all three. Only a week ago, TCC had edged NOVA 56-55.

The game was not particularly well played by either team, but it was a very hard-fought contest that was exciting to watch.

In the first half, NOVA got off to a quick start with Stella Hollaway scoring four points near the basket for an early 9-6 lead. TCC then rallied and took 20-13 and 22-15 leads before NOVA narrowed the deficit to 24-23. A late TCC spurt gave them a 34-29 halftime lead. Hollaway kept NOVA in the game with her play around the basket, grabbing and putting in errant shots as she scored 12 points.

The second half saw NOVA come out strong and take the lead 35-34 on three pointers by Terrell and Dana Carlstrom. Strong play by several players saw NOVA slowly stretch its lead, with two straight baskets by Kristin Dukes making it 49-40 with 11 minutes to go. Things looked promising.

Then NOVA went into a near scoring drought until the game’s end as the team appeared to tighten up and force its play. TCC was not playing exceptionally well either, but with six minutes to go they had narrowed the deficit to 49-46. NOVA finally scored what was to be their final two points on a Dukes basket with under four minutes to play to lead 51-46.

TCC tightened it to 51-48 with a little over two minutes to go and then to 51-50 with over a minute to go as their guard Brittany Herriot made her only basket of the game a big one.

With NOVA still unable to score and with two timeouts not helping, TCC took the lead 52-51 with 40 seconds to go. More NOVA attempts went awry, including one with less than 20 seconds to go with an in-bound pass under its basket from Terrell to a closely guarded Cortes that was unsuccessful and wound up with Cortes fouling.

TCC’s leading scorer, who was not performing well under pressure at the foul line and had missed four straight foul shots since the four-minute mark, again missed two foul shots. However, the ball rebounded out to TCC, and NOVA’s Hollaway ran after the TCC player with the ball, fouling her with 5.1 seconds to go. TCC’s Courtney missed the first foul shot, but made the second for a 53-51 TCC lead.

NOVA still had a chance as it quickly brought the ball up court. Terrell dribbled past the half court line, saw a somewhat free Cortes running up ahead along the right side and hurried a pass up towards her. Unfortunately it was out of reach and the ball bounced out of bounds. With 0.2 seconds to go, TCC launched a long pass, which saw the buzzer quickly sound as second-seeded NOVA went down 53-51, leaving top-seeded TCC as the VCCS tournament champions. The game ending was reminiscent of NOVA’s two-point loss in last year’s tournament when they were unable to get off a hurried shot as time expired.

For the game, Hollaway led NOVA with 12 points, all in the first half. Cortes tallied 11, while Dukes and Erin McGartland each scored eight. Other NOVA players who scored were: Terrell with six, and Carlstrom and Alyssa Ablaza with three each. Whitney Stan did not score.

TCC’s Ashley Miles led TCC with 19.

This ended the season’s basketball conference rivalry with Tidewater Community College, with NOVA losing all six games. Four of them were especially tough losses, with the women losing by one or two points and the men losing by two and in overtime during the regular season.

In the tournament semi-final the previous day, NOVA swamped Thomas Nelson Community College, 81-51, after a 41-19 first half. Karla Cortes led NOVA with 21, with Terrell scoring 16, Hollaway 14, Dukes 11 and Carlstrom 10. Dukes gathered in 14 rebounds and Hollaway had 11. In all, only four VCCS women’s teams participated in the tournament.

In the games after the women’s team came off its five weeks of game inactivity, NOVA appeared rusty as it lost a home game to Tidewater, 73-64, on Feb. 20. Dukes had 16 points, with Ablaza adding 10, Terrell nine and Cortes and Carlstrom eight each.

In its Feb. 28 make-up game at Southside, NOVA won in a romp 87-35. Carlstrom had a super game, scoring 18 while Cortes and McGartland each had 15, Ablaza 14 and Terrell 10. Stan added eight and Hollaway seven.

In a March 2 home game against the Hagerstown Hawks, NOVA revenged an early season defeat by winning easily 75-53, as it outscored Hagerstown in the second half 44-26, after a tight 31-27 halftime lead. Carlstrom again led scorers with 21, while Cortes added 17, Terrell 13 and Ablaza 10.

Then in its final game before the tournament, NOVA traveled to Tidewater. It led 29-26 at halftime, but eventually lost a tight one, 56-55. Carlstrom tied for NOVA scoring honors with 12 with Ablaza, while McGartland added 11 and Hollaway 10. TCC’s Ashley Miles scored 23 to lead all scorers. NOVA wound up 4-2 in VCCS league play and 13-6 overall before the tournament.

With four or five players potentially returning from this year’s team, next year’s team could again do well.

By: Arch Scurlock

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