It took a determined fourth-quarter rally in a title game for the Flint Hill Huskies to complete a perfect dual-championship girls’ basketball season against conference opponents.
By defeating the No. 2 seed Episcopal Maroon, 52-48, in the final of the Independent School League A Division high-school tournament on Sunday (Feb. 23), Flint Hill capped an undefeated 14-0 season against conference opponents.
That was the Oakton-based squad’s second title of the season after it also secured the best regular-season record (12-0) against its A Division opponents.
“You never want to win one title without the other,” Flint Hill interim head coach Dewayne Robinson told FFXnow. “This team is a great group.”
The Huskies (20-7 overall) entered the tournament as the top seed. Flint Hill was 2-0 in the tourney, receiving a first-round bye before routing fourth-seed Holton-Arms, 76-40, in the semifinals.
In the championship game, Flint Hill led 28-18 at halftime, then fell behind 40-35 at the end of three quarters. The Huskies rallied in the fourth by getting and hitting better shots and increasing their defensive pressure.
“Episcopal was very physical and took it to us in the third period,” Robinson said. “The girls settled down in the fourth quarter, stayed poised, got into their offense better, got the shots they wanted and gave it their all.”
Flint Hill senior guard/forward Raigan McCalla, the program’s all-time leading scorer with some 1,700 career points, scored 32 in the championship game and was the top rebounder. Senior guard Alana Taylor scored 12 for the Huskies, senior Tatum Carney had six, and junior center Lynette Doku had two points and five rebounds.
McCalla scored 11 in the fourth quarter and Taylor six. Ashley Giuliani and Taylor Park were other starters in the final for Flint Hill.
Flint Hill previously had defeated Episcopal in two regular-season games.
In Flint Hill’s semifinal win against Holton-Arms, McCalla scored 35 points, Carney 11, Taylor 10, Doku eight, Park six and Giuliani four.
Winning the tournament helped Flint Hill earn a berth into the Division I private-school state tournament as the No. 7 seed.
NOTES: McCalla, Carney and Doku were all-conference selections for their play this season … Flint Hill also won both the A Division regular season and tournament titles, also with a 14-0 record, in the 2022-23 season … Giuliani is the youngest of four sisters too have played basketball at Flint Hill, joining Kelli, Anna and Kara. Kelli Giuliani is now a captain for the Division I women’s basketball team at the U.S. Naval Academy.
