Persistent Warriors Overwhelm Cubs

Even with nearly the entire roster back from last year's City Title champion, the H.D. Woodson girls' basketball team spent the first half of this season learning a lot about itself. Off-the-court adversity challenged the Warriors unlike any opponent they've faced as they traveled across the country facing top competition.

Now that the Warriors seem to have found their stride, they look impressive. Keyed by a switch on defense late in the second quarter, eighth-ranked Woodson was able to push the tempo and run No. 14 Georgetown Visitation ragged en route to a 79-52 road victory.

A half-dozen Warriors and two coaches have had to handle the death of close relatives this season. In addition, they have had starting center Jeniece Johnson on the court only the past four weeks, since she regained her eligibility, and they have not had starting guard Shanice Parker, who injured her knee in the season opener.

As a result, the Warriors (17-6) have gone 2-6 against out-of-area opponents, the standard by which the program has come to measure itself.

"We had to find a way to persevere through adversity," junior guard Ronika Ransford said. "This season made you show what kind of player you were."

As she scored a game-high 23 points, Ransford showed yesterday she is one of the most talented players in the area. Whether it was her 28-foot three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer, her nifty feeds in the lane to Johnson (21 points) for easy layups or wowing the crowd when she switched hands in midair on a drive that ended with a left-handed layup, Ransford was terrific in every facet.

Yet Visitation (23-4) hung with the Warriors, and in fact led 27-22 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half, thanks largely to excellent passing between the low post and players on the perimeter. Four Cubs combined to hit five first-half three-pointers.

But then Woodson ditched its 2-3 zone defense in favor of man-to-man, and that dramatically changed the game. The Warriors scored the game's next 10 points in just 1 minute 50 seconds to take the lead for good. They opened the second half on a 22-5 run to put the game out of reach.

"It took a lot out of us," Visitation Coach Mike McCarthy said of Woodson's defensive switch. "We started settling for threes in the second half, and we couldn't keep that up. Once they get going, everything gets easy for them."

No. 8 H.D. Woodson 79 No. 14 Georgetown Visitation 52

Stepping Up: Visitation, which has not lost a league game in the ISL in more than two years, has played No. 5 Good Counsel, No. 8 H.D. Woodson, St. John's and Baltimore power Seton Keough.

We Need a Game, Too: Woodson, which seldom plays local nonconference foes, has won 54 straight games against D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association opponents, and none this season has been closer than 18 points.