On Dec. 9, the ACHS girls varsity basketball team secured their first win of the 2025-26 winter sport season, defeating the Wakefield High School Warriors 51-45. Following early season losses to Washington-Liberty, Herndon and Dominion high schools, the team was ready for their first victory, led by head coach Alexis Peters.
The Titans kicked off the game with an early lead of 7-2, but by halftime Wakefield had begun to close the gap, making it 21-18 with the Titans maintaining a narrow advantage. Wakefield managed to tie it soon after the half at 23-23, and for the rest of the game it was a constant back and forth, leaving fans from both schools in the stands riveted.
In the nail-biting game, junior Maia Chandler had a 3-pointer, junior Evelyn Booth made several crucial defensive blocks and senior Jacari Jahi had a double-double– 12 points and 12 rebounds.
“Coming into the season I was pretty excited,” said Jahi, who plays center. “I feel like our team has a lot of potential and I’m really excited for my last year with them.”
In preparation for the game, players discussed how they got ready by listening to music and taking their coaches’ notes on how to improve their game strategy.
“We watch film, usually the day before we have a game, to scope out who we’re playing,” said Jahi. “Right before the game we listen to music together, we talk about our goals and what we want to do as a team and personally in the game.”
Junior post player Reese Hearding echoed Jahi’s sentiments.
“We were all really motivated and we got really hype before the game with our music in the locker room,” said Hearding. “We came out with the mindset that we really wanted to show our confidence coming into the home game, and I think we did just that.”
Collaborative plays led to the team’s ultimate success. Junior point guard Josie Dickerson said the bond between the players comes naturally.
“I think we have a really good team culture,” said Dickerson, who had two points and her first assist of the season. “We’re all friends, as we all just want to work together for the common goal of winning our games.
About halfway through the game, sophomore starter Gabrielle Barnes-Thomas left the court after experiencing a mild knee injury, requiring the team to readjust their game approach.
“After our starting player got hurt, I think it really motivated us to want to get the win for her, and we’re just really grateful that she’s going to be ok,” said Hearding. “We just locked in and secured the win.”
Despite a few areas of improvement present during the game, the team felt as though their strengths were the main focus that led to their success.
“I think that we could’ve played more aggressively on defense so that our help didn’t have to come over as much, but overall I think we made up for mistakes on defense with our offense and drawing fouls,” said Dickerson.
Teamwork, passion and dedication led the team to pull away with a 51-45 win.
