Juniors Caitlin Jensen and Abby Rendle scored 15 and 11 points respectively to lead girls’ varsity basketball to a 46-33 victory over rival Herndon on Dec. 18.

The girls led throughout the game with strong defense as Herndon turned the ball over 33 times. The Lady Seahawks set a goal to limit Herndon’s free throw attempts to less than 10. The Hornets only made four free throw attempts.

“The key was free throws and defense,” head coach Christy Winters Scott said. “We played smart and took care of the ball, especially down the stretch.”

Seahawks outscored Herndon 12-6 in the fourth quarter, extending their lead comfortably.

It took a while for the Seahawks to get started.

“We hustled a lot,” junior Chauntell Dunbar said. “During the end of the first quarter, we got frustrated and lost the ball a couple of times. Coach Scott called a time out and we got back in the game.”

The girls improved with a 7-1 record.

“We are striving to win the district title,” Scott said. “It’s great to win at home.”

Herndon dropped to a record of 2-5 overall.

“Both teams battled really hard,” Herndon team captain, senior Mayumi Shill said. “Some calls did not go our way, but we kept playing with heart.”

Even with the early season success, varsity girls look to build upon it.

“We did a lot of positive things, but there is still stuff we need to improve on,” Rendle said.

The Seahawks host Thomas Jefferson tonight at 7:30 p.m.

In the nightcap, boys varsity started with a layup from senior forward Kelly Aghayere and eventually built a 9-2 lead, but

Herndon rallied to take the lead 12-11 at the end of the quarter and never trailed again, winning 59-51.

South Lakes closed to within five points with 1:14 remaining in the game. They would not score again however as Herndon went three for six from the free throw line to close out the scoring.

South Lakes kept the game exciting, especially with play from senior guard Evan Keys and sophomore guard Brandon Kamga. Keys lead a comeback in the second half, scoring  four three-pointers, and head coach Andrew Duggan said that Kamga’s improvement showed against Herndon.

“Obviously, we are disappointed in losing,” Duggan said. “That’s bothersome to the group and

frustrating as a coach. But I love the work habit [of the team]. We’ll be very successful if we show up like that all the time.”

Players came out of the game optimistic about the rest of the season.

“I think we have completed a lot,” junior guard Clayton O’Neill said. “This game gave us a good spark to play very good basketball.”

“Last year, we had a lot of great individual players,” Keys said. “This year, we have a better team. We have to get used to playing together, but as the season goes by, we will be very competitive.”

Varsity boys will bring a 2-5 record at Thomas Jefferson tonight at 7:30 p.m.