Chrissy Kelly continues to get the most out of her team as Osbourn Park returns to the regional final Friday night at Woodbridge.
(photo via Pierre Cannon)
The Osbourn Park ladies continued their winning ways Wednesday night when they hosted Freedom South Riding in the regional semi-finals, outlasting the Eagles 49 to 35. It was the team's seventeenth win in a row to put the Yellow Jackets at 23-1 on the season.
The lady Yellow Jackets have been known for their swarming defense all season, and Freedom immediately felt their presence by turning the ball over on an inbounds play. Despite the pressure, Freedom would eventually kick off the scoring with a layup by junior Grace Farrar.
Osbourn Park junior Kori Cole would break the ice for the home team, scoring a layup while getting fouled. She would miss the free throw, a problem that plagued OP throughout the game. As a team they would finish 5-14 from the charity stripe.
With 3:52 left in the first quarter, senior guard Hailey Kellogg would blow by the Eagles' defense and draw a foul. Soon after, junior Alana Powell would steal the ball and find senior Kacey Kelly for an easy basket. OP would have an early 8-4 lead with 2:30 to go. Sophomore Angie Yann would hit the team's first three-pointer immediately upon entering the game, bumping up the lead to 13-8. The Yellow Jackets would lead 15-10 after one quarter.
Junior Alana Powell led OP with 10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
(photo via Pierre Cannon)
OP would pick up right where they left off when junior Danielle Darfour found freshman center Alex Brown for a basket. Brown and Alana Powell would lead the Yellow Jackets with 10 points each. Powell would then find Kacey Kelly again as their team stretched the lead to 19-12, spurring a Freedom timeout. Powell would lead all players with 5 of her team's 12 assists on the night.
Hailey Kellogg took her turn at finding Kelly for a slashing layup off a fast break a minute later. Danielle Darfour left her mark on the game, completing a three-point play the hard way as OP built a twelve point lead at 26-14 with just over a minute left in the half.
Senior Chloe Wolfe-Pullen would get in on the action, finding Kori Cole for a two points with 20 seconds to go. OP went into the half up 28-15.
Kacey Kelly would connect twice with Alex Brown in the third quarter to give OP a 32-19 lead. Freedom turned the ball over on their next possession, allowing for Chloe Wolfe-Pullen to dish it to Alex Brown for a bucket. Chloe would be on the receiving end of a basket just a minute later courtesy of Alana Powell.
Junior Kori Cole would chip in 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
(photo via Pierre Cannon)
OP would make their second three of the night once again via Angie Yann from Alana Powell to go up 30-23. Freedom did a great job at limiting open looks for OP, especially midrange jumpers. The Yellow Jackets did not make a mid-range jumper all night, scoring off a variety of layups, free throws and four three-pointers. Freedom would head into the final quarter trailing 39-25.
Freedom would threaten to close the gap in the fourth, getting to within twelve points. OP was having none of it and broke away to a 49-31 lead via two three-pointers from Kellogg and Powell with the two alternating on the assist and shot each time. Freedom would once again turn over the ball on an inbounds play. OP would force 18 turnovers throughout the game.
I caught up with OP head coach Chrissy Kelly after the game.
"I'm proud with the constant effort. They really were resilient when Freedom played a tremendous game. They punched us in the face and had us stumbling, and when that happened we still had the ability to trust in each other. Every game gets harder as you move forward. Freedom read the back screens."
Kelly spoke to the team's 5-13 effort on free throws, too.
"I preach it all the time. The reality of it is the deeper you get, free throws become a critical part of the game. We put ourselves in foul trouble by putting them in the bonus early in both halves via undisciplined defense."
Osbourn Park now heads on the road to face a stout Woodbridge Vikings squad only four days after the boys' season ended there.
"At this point, you have to win on the road. Championships are won on the road. My focus is fixing some defensive breakdowns and preparing the best way possible to play a team that has a ton of momentum like they do."
Momentum is also on OP's side as they ride a 17-game win streak with 15 by 15+ points, 14 by 20+ points and an average margin of victory of over 27 points.
Tipoff is at 6:30 pm at Woodbridge high school. For more on the Osbourn Park ladies, follow them on Instagram @OPHSWBB.
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