Hayfield Girls Finish Regular Season with a Flourish

On senior night, the Hayfield girls ended the regular season in style with a 62-20 trouncing of Stuart.

To start, the Raiders defense played loose and allowed Hayfield to move the ball inside. Hayfield senior Shannen Cochraham was overpowering down low and controlled the boards defensively. The Hawks 2-3 zone made it difficult for Stuart to penetrate, and Hayfield went on a 14-0 run until Cari Best got the Raiders offense started with a long3 -pointer. For the remainder of the game, Stuart played catch-up and tried to score from the outside.

In the second quarter, the Raiders played pressure defense and held Hayfield scoreless for the first four minutes. Freshman guard Leah Brennan then took control of the Hawks offense and knocked down a couple long jumpers, including a 3-pointer of her own. She finished with 11 points.

After halftime, Stuart coach Thomas Gaffney coached his team from sideline on having patience with the offense and finding the open shot.

"I have a very young team, and every game from when the ball goes up to the final horn, they've worked hard," said Gaffney. "That's the biggest positive I can take out of this."

Gaffney and his staff have set up multiple camps and clinics for the spring and fall in order to train and condition the girls for playing next year. He also has a rising freshman league and has reached out to the middle school to recruit.

"We have over 50 kids signed up for the offseason," Gaffney added. "I think I'm more excited than they are."

At 6-foot-2 Cochraham, was an easy target for Hayfield underneath and she scored at will throughout the second half. It was evident that Cochraham was enjoying her final regular season high school game, and her teammates encouraged and cheered her on. They even allowed her to drive the ball upcourt from an inbounds pass, something that she normally does not do, and after a long 3-pointer in the fourth quarter the Hawks fans erupted. She finished with 17 points and after the game was excited and confident about next week's district tournament.

"Last year we were beat by Edison," said Cochraham. "I think this year we can take them, become district champions, and blow everyone away."

Second-year Hayfield coach Rudy Coffield also feels his team has a pretty good chance at the district title as well.

"They haven't had too much success in the last 20 years here at Hayfield," said Coffield. "But this is a good group of kids. We told them that here's an opportunity for them to leave a legacy and have a good ending to the year."

At the end of the game, the Hayfield fans gave a standing ovation to the senior lineup as they left the court with 30 seconds left.

Jasmine Young scored 10 points for the Hawks.

Kiana Dunaway led Stuart in scoring with nine points.