Oakton girls win Virginia AAA title, finish season 31-0

With Williams playing this season at Duke (where she won ACC Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year honors), Priester didn’t have to employ any special game planning. Just line up against the person in front of you, he said, and win that battle.

The Cougars undoubtedly did so, even with their best player, Coyer, ceding the spotlight to others. The Villanova recruit finished with nine points and gladly let the Cavaliers’ defense focus on her in order to give others favorable match-ups.

The main beneficiary was her twin sister, Katherine Coyer, who poured in a game-high 24 points. Katherine Coyer’s ability to get to the rim was complimented by the inside play of Elizabeth Manner, who finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds.

“Not everyone is going to play their best every single game,” said Katherine Coyer, who will join her sister at Villanova. “As much as that’s what you want, that’s not going to happen. Someone always has to step up and I was lucky enough it was me.”

The title is Priester’s first in 28 seasons as a coach, the last 18 with Oakton, and he said in the waning moments of the win he recalled a sign from when the New York Rangers won a Stanley Cup in 1994 that read, “Now I can die in peace.”