Four-peat for Madison Girls Basketball
With an "and-one" layup in overtime, the Madison Warhawks Girls Basketball Team defeated the Manchester Lancers (49-46) last week, making this their fourth consecutive state title. This was Madison’s ninth state final appearance—now the most in the history of Class 6 and the former Group AAA.
“Winning the championship in overtime was one of the most tiring experiences I’ve ever had,” said Kayla Dixon, Madison senior guard and game high-scorer with 20 points and a game winning assist. “My legs were dying, but I think that the extra stress made the victory so much better.”
Stella Gougoufkas, junior forward, said the team stood out from their competitors with their “pride on the defensive end of the floor." She adds, “Communicating and trusting each other has been a huge part of our success and sets our team and program apart from others,” said Gougoufkas, who delivered the final and-one layup in overtime that sealed the team’s fourth straight championship.
The road to states this year seemed steep compared to the last three. But, “As a coach, I haven’t seen a group pull together to fight the ‘rankings’ or press as [well as] these girls,” said Head Coach Kirsten Stone. “They had a will to compete.”
When asked what advice she would give to young girls who look up to the winning team, Sarah Link, senior forward (5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal) suggested perseverance and believing in oneself. “Even when you think things are going wrong, you just have to keep going. You could see in our championship game that we were down by 7 [points] in the last quarter, but we didn’t stop playing our game. Basketball is a game of ups and downs, which pertains to real life. You just have to keep believing, even when things aren’t going your way.”
Most of the team attributed their success to their bond. “Team chemistry was the main thing we wanted to work on, on and off the court throughout the season, and I think we did an amazing job,” said junior forward Avery Griepentrog (12 points, 9 rebounds). “Playing with [the] girls every day really helps, but off the court we had team sleepovers and would constantly go out to lunch. We would push each other to work [hard] every day at practice and not let up. This continued to make us better—which also helped motivate us, because we know what the high pressure games feel like and have been there before.”
Additionally, a real sisterhood supported the team. Supporting Coach Stone was Assistant Coach Meredith Renard, her actual sister. The pair also graduated from Madison, where they both played basketball. “She is into the x’s and o’s and I do a lot of the team collaboration,” said Stone. “I do have to say that having someone on your staff who will point out all of your mistakes is a blessing and a curse.”
Coach Stone noted that the Vienna community regularly shows up in full force to support their team’s successes. “Every major game we have, especially if it is the same time as the boys, the local crowd comes out to support. I can’t ask for a better place to teach and coach."
The Hayfield Hawks boy’s basketball team also won a second straight Class 6 Virginia State Championship.
