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Second-Half Surge Lifts Lady Bulldogs, 55-25

Churchill's Sarafina Arthur-Williams scores 23 points in victory over Wootton in the first half of the Patch Game of the Week doubleheader.

Frustration was starting to set in for Sarafina Arthur-Williams Friday night. The Churchill senior forward had as many fouls as points in the first half (three) and Wootton looked to take advantage of the situation.

So with the Lady Bulldogs' leading scorer forced to sit for much of the second quarter due to the early foul trouble, Wootton kept pace with Churchill for the final eight minutes of the half as Arthur-Williams watched from the bench.

But during the break Churchill coach Kate McMahon took her star player aside and calmed her down and reminded her to "play the way she was capable of playing." And Arthur-Williams rose to the occasion, scoring 20 points in the second half as the visiting Lady Bulldogs blasted the host Wootton Patriots, 55-25, before an energetic crowd in Rockville.

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"She's a very mature player and she responded in a big way. She had a phenomenal game," McMahon said of Arthur-Williams. "I think it was a really big confidence boost for her, just to show her what she can do. She's such an unselfish player but she had such a dominating performance."

Despite only scoring six points in the second quarter, because Arthur-Williams was sitting pretty much the entire second quarter, Wootton trailed by just eight points at the break, 20-12. And the Patriots began the second half looking to make a game of it, cutting it to 21-17 early the third quarter.

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But that's when Arthur-Williams took over. Arthur-Williams scored six consecutive baskets over a two-minute stretch midway through the third quarter, which gave Churchill its first 10-point lead of the game, 27-17, with less than three minutes to go in the quarter. Churchill closed the quarter only allowing four more Wootton points and after 24 minutes of play, the Lady Bulldogs had built their biggest lead of the game and led 36-21 with one quarter remaining.

In the fourth quarter, it was more Arthur-Williams as she scored the opening basket of the final period. Churchill pulled away from there and dominated the Patriots on both ends of the floor. Athur-Williams ended with 23 points for the Lady Bulldogs, who enjoyed their seventh consecutive win to move to 8-2 on the season. Churchill's last loss was against the defending state champion Gaithersburg on Dec. 12.

Since then, Churchill has hit its stride and McMahon is pleased with how her team has performed, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. In two of Churchill's last four games, the Lady Bulldogs have kept their opponents to 25 points or less (they gave up 21 to Einstein Dec. 27).

Arthur-Williams said the 30-point win for Churchill was particularly satisfying coming off an overtime win over Whitman on Tuesday. 

"I felt like we needed to come out with a big win tonight," Arthur-Williams said after the game. "After the Whitman game it was important to come out and show teams what we can do."

Wootton (2-9), meanwhile, managed just four points the entire fourth quarter.  

The Lady Patriots' struggles this season in the fourth quarter have hampered Wootton all year. Friday's game was the fifth time this season Maggie Dyer's team failed to break the 30-point mark and the Patriots' 25 points is the lowest output for Wootton since a 48-22 loss to Poolesville on Dec. 14. In that game, Wootton was shutout in the fourth quarter entirely.

Dyer said after the game that it was part of her team's strategy to pressure Arthur-Williams early and force her into foul trouble -- a strategy that worked for about 20 minutes. 

"I think Sarafina had an outstanding game," Dyer said. "We did a good job containing her for about two-and-half quarters but she really took it to us in the second half. I give her all the credit in the world. Churchill's a great program."

Despite the loss, Dyer is remaining hopeful that her team can bounce back when they travel to Whitman Tuesday night. 

"We're young and we're going to keep working," Dyer said. "We just have to keep working hard. I think we played pretty good basketball for about two-and-a-half quarters. There were some positives in the game that we can draw from as we move forward."

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