In the first game of the Joe Cascio Holiday Tournament, the Lady Wildcats of Mountain View High School clawed their way to victory over the Lady Jags in a very close, back and forth contest that swung numerous lead changes with gritty performances by both sides. For Falls Church, the home crowd was unable to will their team to victory but they did witness a Jaguar squad that refused to fold despite missing one All Conference player with another one managing to stay on the court every minute despite suffering from a lingering illness. Several other Lady Jaguars picked up the slack with two of them enjoying career games tonight.

Falls Church overcame numerous inside baskets by Mountain View's forwards to build a 21-18 lead in the first half. Points were distributed among five players, led by the outside shooting and hard-driving point guard, Rasha Benhamida, who guided the ball through four hoops, including a reverse layup. Leah Shaw netted her twelfth "3" of the season in the second quarter while Nyeisha Thompson and Meg Verhagen each scored two points from the front court. Mia Pendleton racked up an impressive half with several rebounds and three baskets, including a nice up-the middle drive off a pass from Verhagen in the closing seconds before intermission.

Falls Church briefly lost their lead early in the third quarter but reclaimed it during this lowest-scoring frame of the game. Verhagen swished in two more buckets and Benhamida converted two fast-break lead passes from Leah Shaw for the other points to end the quarter up 29-28. Benhamida opened the final quarter with a "3" but Mountain View quickly erased their four-point deficit to take a three-point lead within the first 90 seconds of the fourth quarter. Nyeisha Thompson grabbed her own rebound on a missed shot and converted the second to close the Jags within one, but the Wildcats mounted a five-point lead with three minutes to go. Kim Roxborough -- who enjoyed her first Varsity start this game -- netted a basket in the closing minute. Seconds later, Mountain View's lone free throw brought their lead up to 41-37 Benhamida hit her second "3" of the quarter with 15 seconds left to close the gap to one. Unfortunately for the Jags, the game ended with a 2:1 deficit in free throws and they lost this one by two at the buzzer.

Coach Pritchett's team fought hard tonight with Benhamida and Verhagen each tallying their highest game totals of their Varsity careers, Rasha also contributing several assists and Meg stealing several rebounds from bigger opponents. Falls Church plays again in less than 20 hours, hoping to rebound from the defeat and get on the winning track for the final two games of the tournament.

Scoring Summary: Rasha Benhamida, 18 points; Meg Verhagen, 6 points; Mia Pendleton, 6 points; Nyeisha Thompson, 5 points; Leah Shaw, 4 points; Kim Roxborough, 2 points.