The most accomplished season in team history ended one victory short of achieving another significant milestone for the Yorktown Patriots.
Yorktown (20-5) lost to the visiting Langley Saxons, 59-45, Feb. 24 in a semifinal game of the girls 6D North Region high-school basketball tournament. A victory would have earned the Patriots a state-tournament berth for the first time.
Prior to the region competition, Yorktown won a district tournament for the first time by capturing the Liberty title with a 2-0 record. The Patriots were the top seed in the district tournament, winning the regular-season crown with an 11-1 record.
The Patriots’ season also included an 11-game winning streak and a 3-1 postseason record.
Yorktown coach Devaughn Drayton said all season his players got along well, worked hard, were determined with the toughness to win close games and were enjoyable to coach.
“We had a ball, and made history as champs no one can ever take away from these kids,” Drayton said.
Three of the Patriots’ victories were by six points or fewer.
In the eight-team region tourney, Yorktown finished 1-1, defeating Westfield, 50-44, in the first round.
In the semifinal loss to Langley, Yorktown led 15-11, trailed 21-20 at halftime, then was behind 41-31 at the end of three quarters.
For Yorktown, Taylor Chase had 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in the loss. Olivia Stafford added 12 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists; Ana Bournigal had 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals; Asha Goodwin finished with seven points and three rebounds with a steal, and Emma Nelson had five rebounds and two steals.
Langley and Yorktown split two regular-season games, with Langley winning the most recent, 55-50, and Yorktown victorious in the first, 45-34.
Against Westfield in the region contest, the game was close throughout. Yorktown led 24-22 at halftime.
Sofia Tran had 12 points and made three three-pointers for Yorktown. Goodwin scored 11 to go with three assists and three rebounds. Bournigal, a first-team all-region player, had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Stafford scored seven, Chase six and Emma Nelsen three.
NOTES: Yorktown last won 20 games in a season during the 2007-08 campaign, when the Patriots lost in the region-tournament semifinals to W.T. Woodson, 54-41 . . . The five losses Yorktown suffered season were against opponents that 18 victories or more – Langley (twice), Oakton, Madison and undefeated Woodgrove. Three of those teams – Madison, Langley and Woodgrove – played in region-tournament finals.