The Washington Demons earned a sweep of their first basketball doubleheader in two weeks Friday night, taking both games against conference rival Fairfield. The Washington girls jumped out to a 14-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, thanks largely to 10 points from sophomore Adalyn Long.
But the Demons’ star point guard was lost for the rest of the game to an injury she suffered on the final play of the opening period. Washington would scrap by without Long, taking a 19-14 lead into halftime, but the Demons would find themselves down 25-24 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Fortunately, Washington summoned an 8-0 run to start the final period to go in front, and the Demons would hold on to finish off Fairfield 36-32. Washington head coach Shannon Rugg told KCII Sports it was another display of his team’s togetherness.
“They didn’t bat an eye,” Rugg said. “They just fed off each other, and they did their jobs and they just kept playing. We dug in on the defensive end and just really made it hard for them to score until we could kind of figure some things out.”
Demons senior forward Maci Williams said she helped bring the squad together after Long’s early exit.
“I think we were all a little bit frazzled when Addie left,” Williams said, “because, obviously, she’s a big contributor to our team. I brought [the team] all together and said, ‘Guys, it doesn’t matter. Obviously, we’re hoping for the best for her, but it doesn’t matter right now. We have to get some stops.’ We play defense really well.”
Fellow senior Taylor Bartholomew said the biggest key to the win was each Demon doing what they do best.
“I think just working together and remembering our strengths,” Bartholomew said. “I think each person has something that they’re really good at, and if we can all do our thing on the right night, at the right time, that will put us all together as a team.”
The victory moves Washington’s record to 4-2 in the Southeast Conference and 7-5 overall. The Demon boys were also victorious Friday night, but they had to recover from a slow start.
With two starters missing most of the second quarter due to foul trouble and Fairfield senior Sam Weaton pouring in 12 first-half points, Washington found itself down 28-16 at the halftime break.
But, after using a 13-0 run at the start of the third quarter to retake the lead, the Demons dominated the final period, using six three-pointers in the last quarter to finish the game on a 22-6 run and earn a 56-38 victory. Head coach Collin Stark said afterwards that Washington did more than just hit shots in the second half, they also flipped a switch in their intensity.
“What we talk about is bringing that energy,” Stark said, “and I felt like, even before [we] had foul trouble, I just felt like Fairfield was getting to the ball first. They were the aggressor, they were the ones that were attacking, and we were just kind of flat. That’s just what we kind of talked about at half, about getting back to the team we were before, of buying in and just going out and making plays, and I thought that our guys responded to that.”
The Demons finished the night with 10 total made threes, including a trio in the fourth quarter from freshman Nic Stone. Junior Logan McDole led Washington with 13 points scored, while senior Roman Roth added 11 as the Demons improve to 3-3 in conference play and 5-6 overall.