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Sports

Fairfax Completes Comeback Against Lake Braddock

McNaughton and Mesaris steal would-be win from Bruins

Fairfax forward Liz McNaughton plowed through the paint, layed the rock in the hoop, and drew the foul for a 3-point play and a Rebel lead for the first time in the game with just 1:30 remaining in regulation.

Lake Braddock fought back aggressively only to watch what could have been a perfect game for the Bruins disappear Wednesday night on the second day of the Lady Rebels Winter Classic, as Fairfax advanced to the final with the win, 45-42.

Lake Braddock  Coach Leigh Kampman said before the game that she would press the Rebels hard and see what that would give them. Kampman's game plan worked brilliantly for 30 minutes, as the Bruins cut up the court with precision passing. from sophomore Morgan Stearns in the half court game, and a full-court press which led to turnovers and transition points.

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Logan Russell led the Bruins, shooting 4-for-5 for 11 points, with four boards and three steals in a commanding performance, but she said Fairfax brought it on late when it counted, getting her team out of sync.

"They really picked up the pressure and we kind of panicked," Logan said. "We were pumped up about the good game and we didn't use the time to our advantage."

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McNaughton and Meredith Mesaris combined to score 28 points for Fairfax and stole the momentum from the Bruins behind two 3-point plays with less than two minutes left in the game. Mesaris said her team realized they had to calm down and get back to basics in order to win.

"It finally hit us that we needed to pick up our defense," Mesaris said. "We really needed to slow down and play defense and do what we know how to do."

Down at halftime, the Rebels decided to press Lake Braddock in the second half. It worked well, and led them to outscoring the Bruins 14-6 in the fourth quarter.

"It came down to defense," Fairfax Coach Marcus Konde said. "We wear it on the back of our shirts 'Defend, rebound and win.' Even when we have a [bad] offense we can control how we play and we can play tough defense and it was closer than we wanted it to be but it was one of those games that builds character."

Kampman said the team might have become too comfortable with its lead and Fairfax took advantage.

"We got a little complacent and kind of played not to make a mistake rather than pushing, pushing, pushing," Kampman said. "Fairfax hit some good shots and got some and-one calls and they finished and they really stepped it up when they needed to."

Fairfax will play in the tournament championship against Stone Ridge on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Lake Braddock faces Bethesda-Chevy Chase for third place on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

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