College Corner: Loudoun County Grad Brittany Batts Leads Gannon Women Hoops to D2 Elite 8

College Corner with Dan Sousa

(March 20, 2013) - Loudoun County High School grad Brittany Batts, leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage, helped the Gannon women's basketball team capture the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championship with a 50-47 win over California (PA). Gannon now advances to the Elite 8.

Batts, one of the greatest outside shooters in Loudoun history, now has 99 three's on the season, a single season Gannon record. The Knights will play Ashland on March 26 in San Antonio at 9:30 p.m.

Girls Basketball: Loudoun County's Batts to Play at Gannon Next Year

Leesburg (Apr. 11, 2011) - Loudoun County High School athletic director Ken Wright announced on that senior girls basketball standout Brittany Batts has signed to play at NCAA Division II Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.

A 4-year starter on the varsity basketball team, Batts currently owns eight school records including career points with 2039, career 3-point shots made with 270, and total points in a season with 649.

Batts was instrumental in the 2009 VHSL Div. 4 State Championship captured by the Raiders, and she led County to the state championship game this year as the only senior on the team.

This spring, Batts is also the starting goalie on the Raiders varsity soccer team.

Wright: "An outstanding student, Brittany has achieved excellence in the classroom as well as on the court. She currently holds a cumulative 4.12 GPA and serves as a standard bearer for all aspiring student athletes. LCHS is proud to have had Brittany represent us and happy for her and her family on this great achievement."

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa: Batts-Mobile in Full Gear, Lukas Legend Grows as Loudoun County Girls, Potomac Falls Balls Make State Hoops Semifinals

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

(Mar. 7, 2011) - Some teams have bandwagons ... the Loudoun County High School girls basketball team apparently has a Batts-mobile as the Raiders have zoomed into the VHSL Division 4 state semifinals on a 20-game winning streak steered by high-scoring senior Brittany Batts.

For the Potomac Falls High School boys basketball team this season hasn't been so much about bandwagons as it has been an epic quest for a second straight state title and on Saturday the Legend of Lukas Mihailovich grew a bit taller with a breath-taking buzzer beater by the 6-foot Panther senior leader.

It is a legend that was forged his junior year when Mihailovich opened December with a school-record 50 points and halfcourt buzzer beater in a triple overtime win and finished things in March with an incredibly clutch state playoffs, averaging 26 points a game, including 33 in the double overtime state finals as the Panthers brought back the first boys basketball state title in history to Loudoun.

Batts and Mihailovich, two standout seniors, both still looking for the right college basketball offers, but first they are concentrating on securing their second state title rings -- the Raiders won the title in 2009 when Batts started as a sophomore.

These two clutch performers were both in the spotlight Saturday in the Division 4 state quarterfinals at Robinson High School but they helped their teams into the semifinals in entirely different fashions.

Girls Basketball: Loudoun County's Brittany Batts Named Region II D4 Player of the Year, Fisher Earns Coach of the Year

Brittany Batts

(Feb. 28, 2011) - Region II Division 4 girls basketball champion Loudoun County High School swept honors in a vote of coaches with senior Brittany Batts named the Player of the Year and first-year coach Derek Fisher selected as Coach of the Year.

Freedom senior Dionna Scott earned first team honors as well.

All-Region II

1st Team:

Courtni Green (D3 POY) - Millbrook

Dionna Scott

Brittany Batts (D4 POY) - Loudoun County
Jazmon Gwathmey - Liberty
Erin Drumheller - Sherando
Dionna Scott - Freedom

2nd Team:

Sara Mead - Millbrook
Ellen Shaffrey - Western Albemarle
Alisha Mobley - Millbrook
Elizabeth Wood - Liberty
Kelsey Taylor - Brentsville

D3 COY - Debby Sanders - Millbrook
D4 COY - Derek Fisher - Loudoun County

Girls Basketball: Raiders Rule Region with 54-51 Win over Rival Freedom in Latest Match-up in Epic Series

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor

Leesburg (Feb. 25, 2011) - The epic series between the Freedom and Loudoun County high school girls basketball teams stretched across 17 incredible games during the brilliant 4-year careers of Eagle swing player Dionna Scott and Raider guard Brittany Batts and the two veterans saved the best for last as they combined for 47 points Thursday night in a contest won by Loudoun County, 54-51.

The win avenged a loss by the Raiders at Freedom in last year's Region II Division 4 semifinals and sent Loudoun County onto the regional final Saturday at 7 p.m. at Liberty and assured the Raiders of a trip to the VHSL state tournament in a week.

"I love playing against Freedom. You know they are always going to bring it," said Batts who scored 14 of her team-high 23 points in the final quarter, the most she has ever scored against two-time defending state champion Freedom. "That loss (in regionals) last year was tough so getting them back on our homecourt tonight felt great."

Scott, with a game-high 24 points and team-high 16 rebounds -- her second best offensive effort ever against the Raiders -- did everything she could as Freedom, with junior Alexis Mayo scoring 15 points, built a 10-point first half advantage but Loudoun County fought back and nosed ahead in the second half.

Girls Basketball: Batts Scores 31 to Lead Loudoun County Over Potomac Falls

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor

Leesburg (Dec. 23, 2010) - Loudoun County High School senior Brittany Batts scores a game-high 31 points and keyed a 10-0 third quarter run that broke open a 25-25 tie as the Raiders rolled to a 58-43 girls basketball win over Potomac Falls Wednesday night in Leesburg.

The win moved the Raiders (3-1, 5-2) and Panthers (3-1, 4-5) into a tie in the loss column in the Dulles District standings with Freedom (4-1, 6-2), which fell Wednesday in an upset to Briar Woods, 33-31.

First-year Raider coach Derek Fisher said he was enjoying working with "a great group of kids" and that both he and the players were still in the learning process with each other.

"We hope to be a lot better team at the end of the season than we are now," said Fisher.

The smaller Loudoun County team out-rebounded Potomac Falls in the contest and the Raiders patented fullcourt pressure forced turnovers and led to easy baskets.

Batts hit two of her four 3-pointers during the 10-0 run in the third quarter that came after Potomac Falls had tied the game on senior Kayla Guttredge's 3-pointer. Ewald described Batts' shooting performance as "scorching the earth" as she drilled several 3-pointers several steps behind the arc.

"She makes everybody else on the team better," said Fisher.

Raider sophomore Haley Knudsen scored her only four points of the game during the key third quarter stretch. County 6-foot junior Casey Cummings led the Raiders dominance inside.

"Normally we are a good rebounding team but they crashed hard and their speed hurt us," said Potomac Falls coach Lynn Ewald.

Cummings and junior Alex Lapple each finished with six points while freshman Maggie Phillips added a spark off the bench with seven.

Guttredge finished with a team high 12 points, all from beyond the arc. Freshman Teal Reynolds added 11 for the Panthers.

Loudoun County 58, Potomac Falls 43
Potomac Falls (3-1, 4-5)
Guttridge 4 0-0 12, Reynolds 5 1-1 11, Mook 3 1-4 7, Jefferies 1 2-2 4, Perez 2 0-0 5, Murphy 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 4-7 43.
Loudoun County (3-1, 5-2)
Lapple 2 1-2 6, Knudsen 2 0-0 4, Linnemann 1 2-3 4, Batts 10 7-8 31, Cummings 3 0-0 6, Phillips 2 3-6 7. Totals 20 13-19 58.
3-Pointers: PF 5 (Guttridge 4, Perez 1), LC 5 (Batts 4, Lapple 1).
End 1st: LC 13, PF 10
Half: LC 25, PF 22
End 3rd: LC 42, PF 31

Girls Basketball: Record-Breaking Batts Leads Raiders to 51-46 Win Over Heritage

By Alanna Dvorak
VivaLoudoun College Intern

Leesburg (Dec. 17, 2010) - The Loudoun County High School girls basketball survived a second half surge by visiting Heritage Friday night to win the “Battle of Leesburg”, 51-46.

The evening, however, belonged to Raider senior Brittany Batts, who after two early free throws, was honored by the school for breaking the Loudoun County High School girls record for career points. Batts was the high scorer for the game with 16 points to increase her career scoring total to 1,480 points. Earlier in the week on the road, Batts had edged past the previous school record of 1,458 set by Angela Dolby, who graduated in 1988.

Brittany Batts with family: dad  (Steve), mom (Lisa) and sister (Madison)
Photos courtesy of Gary Sousa/Sousasportpics.com

“It feels amazing,” said Batts. “But there’s still a long way to go.”

Batts also owns the single game free throw made record, 12, and the career free throw made mark with 265 to date along with the career three-point made record of 181 and counting.

“She deserves to be a record-breaker,” said first-year Raider head coach Derek Fisher. “She works hard and gives back. We’re proud to have her.”

The Raiders (3-2 record), coming into the non-district contest on a rare two-game skid, clearly dominated the first quarter, as the Pride struggled with turnovers. County entered the second quarter with a 21-7 lead. The Pride (5-4) managed to keep a better pace with the Raiders in the second still the half ended with the Raiders up 33-17.

The 2nd half breathed new life into the Pride. Led by junior guard Sydney McDonald and freshman guard Kayla Tibbs, the Pride outscored the Raiders 25-18 in the final two quarters. Both teams were given plenty of opportunities at the line as the Raiders and Pride accrued 12 and 11 fouls in the second half, respectively.

Heritage head coach Anthony Long is still optimistic about his season. “We are two wins away from our best season record. We have 10 strong players.”

This second meeting of the non-district Leesburg rivals will be the last of the season, as both teams prepare to enter district play in the coming weeks.

LOUDOUN COUNTY 51, HERITAGE 46
H (5-4) — Tibbs 11, McDonald 9, Grabbi 7, Smart 6, Nibbelink 5, Moore 4, Whoolery 3, Reilly 1. Totals 17 11-22 46.
L (3-20) — Batts 16, Cummings 13, Lapple 12, Linnemann 10. Totals 16 15-23 51.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 33-17.
Three-point goals: H (Tibbs); L 4 (Batts, Cummings, Lapple 2).


More on Batts’ Record Breaking Career at Loudoun County

Loudoun County High School senior standout Brittany Batts broke the career scoring mark this week set by Angela Dolby at 1,458 points in 1987.

Batts was recognized Friday night in front of her home crowd and delivered the ball to her parents, Steve and Lisa Batts.

To date, Batts has 1,480 points as she is only five games into her final year as a Lady Raider.
Batts became an instant success her freshman season. During her initial campaign, she averaged 15 per game and scored 380 points as the Raiders won the Dulles District regular season and tournament championships.

Batts would not suffer a “sophomore slump” as the sharpshooter continued to demonstrate her abilities to score as she tallied a staggering 571 points (school record) in helping lead the Lady Raider’s program to their first state championship in basketball.

Last season, Batts’ junior year, she recorded 439 points in only 23 contests. With Batts average of 19.1 points, she would have most likely eclipsed the school mark but lost five games due to the weather cancellations. Once again, Batts’ team won championships as they shared the Dulles District regular season championship with Freedom and then beat them in the tournament championship to earn another title in her stellar career.

Other individual accomplishments include a game high of 33 points her sophomore year, hitting eight three’s in the win over Loudoun Valley. In a Regional win over James Wood her junior year, she would hit a school record nine three pointers as she scored 31 points in that contest.

Batts also owns the single game free throw made record, 12, and the career free throw made mark with 265 to date along with the career three-point made record of 181 and counting.

Loudoun County High School opened its doors in 1954.

Batts by the Numbers:
84 Games
1,480 points
336 two-point field goals
181 three-point field goals
265 free throws made

Alanna Dvorak is a Potomac Falls High School graduate  and is currently studying journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Alanna will be interning with VivaLoudoun over the holidays!

Girls Basketball: Batts Hits School-Record Nine 3-Pointers in Loudoun County's 83-36 Playoff Romp over James Wood

Leesburg (Feb. 23, 2010) - Playing without last year's VHSL AA Division 4 Player of the Year, Kendra Holmes, the Loudoun County High School girls basketball team had little problems Tuesday as they dismantled visiting James Wood, 83-36, in the Region II quarterfinals.

Raider junior Brittany Batts broke her own school record of eight three-pointers in a contest by connecting on nine in the win as she also celebrated her 17th birthday! Batts would finish with a game-high 31 points as LC earned a fifth meeting this season with rival Freedom, at 7 p.m. Thursday in South Riding with a regional title game berth and state playoff bid on the line.

Senior Alissa Kain continued her outstanding all-around play. Kain, coming off a game high 21 points in this past Saturday's Dulles District tournament championship win over Freedom, scored 16 points and dished out eight assists.

Sophomore Erica Linnemann tallied 13 points. Linnemann has scored in double figures in the last four Raider postseason wins.

Holmes sat out for precautionary reasons as she suffered an injury in last Saturday's victory.

Loudoun County 83, James Wood 36
L (19-3, 8-1) — Batts 31, A. Kain 16, Linnemann 13, Cummings 6, Strange 6, Grimsley 5, S. Kain 4, Lapple 2. Totals 32 6-8 83.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 37-16.
Three-point goals: L 13 (Batts 9, A. Kain 2, Linnemann, S. Kain).
Rebounds: L 26 (Batts, A. Kain 4, Linnemann 4, Cummings 4, Strange 7, Grimsley 3, Lapple 3).
Assists: L 18 (A. Kain 8, Linnemann 3, Strange 3, S. Kain, Lapple 3).

Picture above by Gary Sousa at http://sousasportpics.com (and, no, he is NOT my brother!)

Basketball: Hot Shots Indeed! Stone Bridge's Nik Brown and Loudoun County's Brittany Batts with Big Performances

(Jan. 13, 2010) - There is a reason we call our single game scoring charts "Hot Shots" because these athletes can shoot! On Tuesday there were two big-time performances with Stone Bridge High School's Nik Brown setting the school record with 35 points and Loudoun County High School's Brittany Batts tying her own school record with eight 3-pointers on the way to 30 points.

It was the first 30-point performance by a girl this season and Brown's 35 ranks No. 4 on the boys charts. We have collected every double digit scoring performance of the season for  your viewing pleasure ... check it out here!

Girls Basketball: Brittany Batts Breaks 1,000 Points Midway Through Her Raider Career as LC Beats Leesburg Rival Heritage

Leesburg (Dec. 8, 2009) - The Loudoun County High School girls basketball team improved to 3-0 on the season with a 66-39 victory over visiting Leesburg rival Heritage as junior Brittany Batts passed the 1,000-point scoring mark.

Batts, who helped the Raiders to the AA Division 4 state title last season, hit a pull-up jumper off the glass from the left wing to surpass the feat. Batts was then recognized and presented the game ball which she delivered to her parents, Steve and Lisa, in the stands.

Batts finished with 16 points in the contest and now has 1,003 career points to date.

Batts wasn't the only Raider doing damage on the night. Seniors Kendra Holmes and Alissa Kain continued their outstanding all-around play.

Holmes started off the first quarter with 11 of her game high 19 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Kain also filled up the stat sheet as she finished with nine points, seven assist, and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Raiders got key contributions from all 11 players and will now begin to prepare for their Dulles District opener on Friday night when they travel to Briar Woods.

Necole Sterling led the Pride (0-3) with 18 points and Erika Grabbi grabbed 15 points for Heritage.

LOUDOUN COUNTY 66, HERITAGE 39
H (0-3, 0-0) — Sterling 18, Grabbi 15, Evans 2, Paskowski 2, Surles 1, Whoolery 1. Totals 14 11-17 39.
L (3-0, 0-0) — Holmes 19, Batts 16, A. Kain 9, Linnemann 7, Strange 5, Grimsley 4, Cummings 2, S. Kain 2, Lapple 2. Totals 26 11-19 66.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 40-23.
Three-point goals: L 3 (Holmes, Batts 2).
Rebounds: L 49 (Holmes 10, Batts, A. Kain 11, Linnemann 4, Strange 8, Grimsley 5, Cummings 4, S. Kain, Lapple 2, Knudsen 2, Saleck).
Assists: L 16 (Holmes 2, A. Kain 7, Strange 2, Lapple 2, Knudsen 2, Saleck).
Photo courtey of Gary Sousa/Sousasportpics.com