Back in the preseason, Madison girls basketball coach Kirsten Roberts' thoughts were already on the Northern Region tournament.
The Warhawks’ 51-41 victory over Yorktown on Tuesday night in the first round of the tournament marks part one of her post-season goals officially accomplished.
After a cold first quarter, Madison took a 21-12 lead going into halftime. The Warhawks stepped up on defense, including a big block by senior guard Michelle Mittel late in the second quarter, to stop Yorktown freshman scoring threat Mikayla Venson, limiting her to six points in the first half.
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Both teams played physically with several hard fouls throughout the game. In the second quarter, Yorktown senior forward Lena Negri was hit with a technical foul after flailing her elbows wildly while caught up on a rebound with Warhawks’ defenders.
Madison senior Anna Jay played as though it could be the last game of her career. The 6-foot-3 senior finished the game with eight points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals. She even brought the ball up the court through the stifling Yorktown full-court pressure when she couldn’t get the ball to her guards.
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The Warhawks got hot from the perimeter in the third quarter and jumped out to a 17-point lead behind great shooting from Annie Gauf and Megan Henshaw.
Senior Megan LeDuc struggled early committing several turnovers in the first quarter, but bounced back and found the stroke on her patented one-handed, mid-range jumper, finishing the game with 12 points to lead all Warhawks’ players in scoring.
Venson lead all scorers in the game though finishing with 20 points and four steals.
With the victory Madison will move on to the second round of the Northern Region tournament, where the Warhawks will have a tough test in Oakton on Wednesday night against their crosstown rivals:
