WCAC Finals: Elizabeth Seton and DeMatha Claim Titles

By Sean Frye

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- Just a day removed from a hectic day of semifinals match-ups, the boys’ and girls’ WCAC titles were decided Monday night at Bender Arena, home to American University. In the girls match-up, the Elizabeth Seton Roadrunners upended the St. John’s Cadets. And then in the boys’ game, the top-seeded DeMatha Stags manhandled the Gonzaga Eagles to claim the most coveted conference title arguably in the country.

GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP: Elizabeth Seton (74) vs. St. John’s (63)

The girls’ championship game between the Roadrunners and the Cadets opened up the evening. The Cadets played well, but the Roadrunners’ offense was simply too much, and they fulfilled their destiny, winning both the regular season title and the conference championship, culminating in the fans storming the court.

Both squads started out evenly in the first quarter, with both teams getting good looks offensively. However, halfway through the quarter, the Roadrunners went on a 12-2 run to put the score at 23-12 going into the second quarter.

The Roadrunners began to click defensively in the second quarter, shutting down the impressive guards of the Cadets. Overall, the Roadrunners just seemed to flow, with Tyaunna Marshall scoring six points en route to a 35-24 halftime advantage.

In the third quarter, while the physicality of the game was maintained, the Roadrunners continued to hold up their lead. Marshall had her most impressive quarter of the night, scoring 10, helping the Roadrunners to a 49-37 lead with just one quarter left in the season.

Destiny was fulfilled in the fourth quarter, as the Roadrunners completed their run as the top seed in the playoffs with a win over the Cadets. The game was iced with about four minutes left, as Alexis Martin scored a lay-up off her team’s offensive board to put the score at 57-42. The Roadrunners ended the game with a 74-63 win.

“We shut down the great Cadets’ guards, and we did it for the seniors,” Roadrunners’ head coach Jazz Perazic said.

In her final game as a Roadrunner, Marshall led the game with an astounding 32 points. Nicola Zimmer led the Cadets with 19 points of her own.

BOYS GAME: DeMatha (71) vs. Gonzaga (52)

In one of the most highly built-up games in the entire season, a game that was written in stone from day one finally happened, as the DeMatha Stags took on the Gonzaga Eagles for the WCAC crown. While the previous two meetings between these two teams were decided by a total of six points, the Stags took an early lead and never looked back in this one, and behind a career-high 30 points from Quinn Cook, the Stags cruised to a 71-52 win.

The game started with both squads seemingly testing each other out. However, Cook and Jerian Grant hit consecutive 3-pointers to help them begin to pull away from the Eagles, who trailed 18-9 after the first quarter.

Cook went off in the second quarter, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 13 points. BeeJay Anya and Mikael Hopkins, each with two points in the quarter, were the only other Stags to even find the basket in the quarter. Nevertheless, despite eight points from Tyler Thornton in the quarter, the Eagles still trailed going into halftime by a score of 35-23.

The game was sealed in the third quarter though, as the Eagles’ offense went on arguably its worst stint of the season. It wasn’t until Thornton hit a floater near the four minute mark that the Eagles even added points to their halftime score. Meanwhile, Cook continued to pour it in, adding another nine points to his total.

In the fourth quarter, the Stags press defense continued to hinder the Eagles, thus thwarting any sort of comeback. Cook scored three more points in the quarter to bring his total to 30 on the night before the starts got their curtain call with 1:40 remaining. When it was all said and done, the Stags walked away with a dominating 71-52 win.

"There wasn’t any pressure. It was just a game, and I wanted to go out there and just play,” Cook said after the game. “After I hit my second 3-pointer I knew I was feeling it.”

For the Stags, Cook was followed by Victor Oladipo, who scored 12 points on the night. As for the Eagles, Thornton led the way with 16 points in his last game in a high school uniform. Cedrick Lindsay and Malcolm Lemmons, who are also seniors, scored 12 and 10 points respectively as well. With the win, the Stags earned the right to play for the City Title next Sunday at the Verizon Center against Ballou.