ORANGE — It had been over a decade since Orange County’s girls basketball program secured a region tournament win.
That all changed on Monday night, as the Hornets used a well-balanced offensive attack and stifling defense to hold off a pesky Stafford team 59-52 in the first round of the Region 5A North tournament.
Orange advances to the quarterfinals and will visit Thomas Edison on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Three players — Kiani Hudgens, Laine Harrington and Deja Wilson — reached double figures in scoring in the victory.
“I really felt like our defense, especially when we switched to our zone picked it up a little bit. We got some defensive stops, which then freed us up a little bit to be more aggressive offensively,” Orange coach David Rabe said. “When we can do that when we’ve got two seniors and a junior leading us, we can do great things.”
Stafford started off strong, opening the game with a 6-0 run. However, after a quick timeout, the Hornets scored 11 unanswered points, including a 3-pointer by Hudgens to give Orange its first lead. Lexi Lomax capped the run with a basket underneath off a nifty bounce pass from Hudgens and the Hornets continued to build their lead in the second quarter.
Wilson knocked down back-to-back threes to end the first half as Orange held a 23-16 advantage at halftime.
The Hornets (21-5) picked up right where they left off in the third quarter. Harrington, who has struggled offensively as of late, hit a shot from beyond the arc, then Wilson and Lindsey Slaughter drained 3-pointers as well to give the hosts a sizeable advantage (32-16).
“We decided everybody’s got a green light — if you’re open, shoot it,” Rabe said. “Luckily tonight they kept falling.”
The visitors hung around in the fourth quarter thanks to solid perimeter shooting — the Indians connected on six 3-pointers in the frame, cutting Orange’s double-digit lead to six points with under two minutes remaining.
The Hornets made 15 of 20 free throws in the fourth, including 11 of 16 in the final two minutes to secure the win.
“Our goal was, work hard in the first two quarters, the third quarter execute, the fourth quarter play with heart and it worked,” Rabe added. “We had to tell them, make sure you play the game to win. Don’t play to hold on to a lead or play to not lose.”
That mentality was especially evident for Hudgens, who in addition to leading all scorers with 16 points, at 5-0 and the smallest player on the court, grabbed nine rebounds, six of which came on the defensive end. The senior leader finished 9 of 12 from the foul line and had five assists as well.
“I’ve always been told it’s about your heart, not your size, so I always go with that,” Hudgens said. “When you have a great team behind you it makes it easier.”
Harrington added 13 points, nine boards and four steals, while Wilson finished with 11 points. Lomax and Diamond Towles tallied eight points apiece and Slaughter pulled down six rebounds.
For Stafford, Grace Epps led the way with 15 points while Alexis Hempe had 14 points.
