The Edison and South Lakes girls basketball teams saw their seasons come to a close last Friday in the Virginia AAA state quarterfinals. Northern Region champion Edison began the evening with a 58-52 loss against Northwest Region runner-up Colonial Forge at Robinson Secondary, and Northern Region runner-up South Lakes followed that with a 55-53 defeat at the hands of Northwest Region champion Stonewall Jackson.
Much like it did in its region championship game against South Lakes, Edison (24-5) fell behind 23-9 by the end of the first quarter before rallying to grab a brief one-point lead just before halftime. Colonial Forge (26-3) knocked down eight 3-pointers to overcome a game-high 22 points by Edison freshman Jada Graves and become the first Stafford County girls team to win a state tournament game.
South Lakes (23-6) took a 37-36 lead into the fourth quarter, but Stonewall Jackson (24-4) responded with an 8-0 run that helped secure the win. The Raiders overcame two injuries and foul trouble to its best player, Nicole Floyd (team-high 16 points), to send the Seahawks packing. Junior center Abigail Rendle led South Lakes with 16 points, while sophomore forward Princess Aghayere notched 11 points.
Colonial Forge and Stonewall Jackson each lost in Monday’s semifinals, setting the stage for Friday’s state final in Richmond between Lake Taylor and Princess Anne.
neilerson@fairfaxtimes.com