Girls Basketball: Black and Blue Bulldogs into Regional Quarterfinals with 43-30 win over Hayfield

Murielle Tiernan and Cori Prince each had 13 points Monday night for SB


Ashburn (Feb. 22, 2011) - Don't let the Stone Bridge High School girls basketball team's powder blue uniforms or bevy of speedy guards fool you ... this team is 23-3 on the season because of a blue-collar attitude and the Bulldogs had the bruises to show for it after a bruising, 43-30, win over Hayfield in the Northern Region first round.

Sophomore Murielle Tiernan and senior Cori Prince each scored 13 points to lead the Bulldogs that trailed early in the second half, 18-17, before re-establishing a 6-point lead by the end of the third quarter and then gradually pulling away down the stretch. Stone Bridge will host Robinson on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

Freshman Megan Della-Penna, gaining confidence as the season progresses, put Stone Bridge ahead for good, 19-18, with a pair of free throws with 4:20 to go in the third. Tiernan, working hard on the boards against a strong inside Hawks team, put back a miss to make it 21-18.

Hayfield got back to within a point on a nice drive by Taylor Jewett but Prince hit one of her three 3-pointers in the game to make it 24-20 with 2:47 left in the third. While Hayfield's 6-foot-2 Shannen Cochrahan was able to post up for two of her team-high 10 points, the Bulldogs -- back by a boisterous home crowd -- finished the quarter strong with Della-Penna finishing another offensive rebound and then Prince turning a steal into a layin for a 28-22 lead going into the final quarter.

Midway through the final quarter, Hayfield stuck close, down by just four, 32-28, after back-to-back Cochrahan buckets but the Stone Bridge fullcourt pressure started to wear on the Hawks and Stone Bridge forced Hayfield to send them to the line where Stone Bridge shot 7 of 13 in the final four minutes.

Prince's sister, sophomore Nicole Prince, provided a spark down the stretch, getting to the line for a free throw and then with a nice assist to Tiernan on the press break. When Stone Bridge went into a well-designed stall, Hayfield spent more than a minute chasing the Bulldogs and then when they overplayed the guards up top, Tiernan went backdoor and made a basket for an And-One opportunity that made it Stone Bridge, 38-28, with 1:41 left.

If it wasn't for a Hayfield jumper in the waning seconds, Stone Bridge would have held the Hawks without a field goal in the five and half minutes of the contest.

Stone Bridge 43, Hayfield 30
Hayfield (11-13): Cochrahan 10, Reives 7, Jewett 6, Smith 4, Abulencia 3.
Stone Bridge (23-3): CPrince 3, Tiernan 13, Della-Penna 8, NPrince 5, Guzek 4.