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| Angela Watts of DigitalSports.com talks with National District MVP Skylar Jones after the Majors' won the tournament championship. | |||||
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By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area
** Click the links above to access a full photo gallery and dozens of video highlights from Friday's championship games!
When Mount Vernon's boys' and girls' basketball teams gathered at mid-court to pose for pictures following Friday night's National District championship doubleheader, the Majors' players and coaches unanimously decided to flash two fingers at the lenses instead of the traditional No. 1 gesture.
It was a sign of unity. One of dominance. And, mostly, one of pride.
Mount Vernon is one of only two schools in the entire Northern Region to capture both the girls' and boys' basketball district titles. The other is traditional-power T.C. Williams of the Patriot District.
"This ... this puts Mount Vernon on the map!" one of the Majors' assistant coaches shouted as the boys and girls players began gathering for their celebratory photo.
"This is history-making for our school!"
And, in fitting fashion, the girls' 49-31 victory over Edison and the boys' 55-50 victory over Stuart came in front of Mount Vernon's largest basketball crowd in recent memory.
"That's really a dream come true," boys' Coach Alfonso Smith said of the crowd. "I know that was one of the things when I first started coaching here that was a dream. ... I had to walk into the gym before the guys came out and it was a really big moment for me because I was taken aback to see all of the people here.
"To have a dream and actually see it come to pass is really humbling."
But there was another, more pointed dream on the line Friday night. Smith and girls' Coach Terry Henderson, along with their entire coaching staffs, had talked all season about wanting this to be a joint effort.
And when the final buzzers had sounded after each game, they were the first in line to congratulate each other with genuine smiles, high-fives and hugs all around.
"We have a real close coaching staff from boys and girls," Smith said. "And we talked about this week that we both wanted to go ahead and be in this position. And we were blessed enough to do that. So I'm really proud of both programs."
The Majors' girls got things rolling in the first game, turning what had been a close, 30-27 game with 2 minutes, 24 seconds left in the third quarter into a blowout.
No. 10 Mount Vernon did so by outscoring Edison, 19-4, over the final 10 minutes of play.
"At half time I told the girls that this is a game of runs," Henderson said. "I said, 'Edison is going to make their run. But we have to sustain that, stay poised during that time and when we make our run we have to extend it all the way through the fourth quarter.'
"And things just came together for us like that."
The Majors were led by junior forward Tracy King (game-high 20 points) and junior point guard Jalinda Venable (16), who drained two key three-pointers in the final period of play.
Edison, meanwhile, was paced by junior point guard Myisha Goodwin (15 points), the National District Player of the Year.
"I'm truly excited," Henderson said. "Words can't even express how proud I am of these young ladies. The main thing is that they believed. And I really feel like while the regular-season title is nice, it's not complete without the district tournament championship. So this means so much to us."
The boys' game was similarly close until late in the third quarter when a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jesse Konadu and a one-handed dunk by junior Daron Fennell turned a tie game into a 44-39 Mount Vernon lead headed into the final period.
The Majors were led by National District and Tournament MVP Skylar Jones with a game-high 18 points while Konadu and junior guard Robert Smith added 15 and nine, respectively. The Raiders were paced by junior guard Antonio Harris, Jr., with 14 and senior forward Raymond Watson with nine.
"Our guys just stuck together, just like we've been doing all year," said Smith, whose team has won 17 consecutive games dating back to mid-December. "We've been tested, we've played a lot of good teams and we've gotten stronger. ...
"We're not done yet."
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
2009 NATIONAL DISTRICT ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Girls
Tournament MVP: Jalinda Venable, MV.
All-Tournament Team: Keiyana Brooks, ST; Christine Dua, ED; Myisha Goodwin, ED; Jayme Harris, ST; Tracy King, MV; Leni Negri, YK; Lindiwe Rennert, YK.
Boys
Tournament MVP: Skylar Jones, MV.
All-Tournament Team: Antonio Harris, Jr., ST; Simon Kilday, YK; Corey Levenberry, WK; Kyle Ricks, MV; Robert Smith, MV; Mike Veith, YK; Raymond Watson, ST.
GAME 1
Edison 4 11 12 4 -- 31
No. 10 Mount Vernon 11 12 11 15 -- 49
Edison -- Goodwin 6 3-3 15; Dua 1 2-2 4; Murray 2 0-2 4; Graham 1 0-0 2; Grignol 1 0-0 2; Potts 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 13 5-7 31. Mount Vernon -- King 7 6-6 20; Venable 7 0-0 16; Mathes 1 4-6 7; Jackson 3 0-0 6. Team totals: 18 10-12 49. Three-pointers -- Edison 0; Mount Vernon 3 (Venable 2, Mathes).
GAME 2
Stuart 11 16 12 11 -- 50
No. 9 Mount Vernon 12 17 15 11 -- 55
Stuart -- Harris 5 3-3 14; Watson 3 3-3 9; Ibrihim 4 0-0 8; Kosh 2 4-5 8; Ford 2 2-2 6; Zaman 2 1-2 5. Team totals: 18 13-15 50. Mount Vernon -- Jones 7 3-4 18; Konadu 6 2-5 15; Smith 2 4-4 9; Green 2 3-4 7; Ricks 2 0-0 4; Fennell 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 20 12-17 55. Three-pointers -- Stuart 1 (Harris); Mount Vernon 3 (Jones, Konadu, Smith).
