Both Oakton girls and boys basketball teams faced Chantilly on Friday, Feb. 3 for an exciting doubleheader. By the start of the varsity girls game at 5:45 p.m., students filled the stands. The Oakton student section showed off their school spirit with a hawaiian-out, while Chantilly’s student section wore camouflage. Parents, siblings, teachers, and administrators also came out to support the athletes.

The varsity girls game started out strong with Oakton’s Maddie Royle winning the jump ball. Oakton outplayed Chantilly in the first quarter but Chantilly’s Mary Clougherty kept the score close. The score at the end of the first quarter was 14-11 cougars. Chantilly fought hard throughout the second quarter, tying up the score with a three pointer near the start. The teams were neck-in-neck throughout the second quarter. They were tied at 21-21 at halftime.

Both teams went in for a fast and aggressive third quarter. Senior Oakton athletes Delaney Connolly and Kailyn Fee stood out with some impressive baskets. At the end of third quarter, the score was 41-37 Oakton. Both teams looked strong as they headed into the fourth quarter. Throughout the end of the game, Royle was the MVP on defense. The referees called Royle for a technical foul with 5 minutes left. The teams were tied at 4:45 left, and the cougars were ahead at 2:45 left. With 17 seconds left, a Chantilly athlete fouled Conolly, who then made both foul shots. Working hard to keep Chantilly from scoring, Royle fouled out with 15 seconds left in the game. Chantilly put up a fight in the last few seconds, but Oakton ultimately won 53-51.

The Oakton student section celebrated the win as even more arrived for the varsity boys game. The boys teams played at 7:30 p.m.. The teams were evenly matched and the score remained close for much of the game. By the end of fourth quarter, Oakton and Chantilly were tied and headed into overtime. At the end of overtime, Oakton boys were down 49-51. With 0.6 seconds left, Oakton’s Paul Campo passed it to #21 Charlie Smith. With speed and precision, Smith sent up a shot just as the clock buzzed, tying it up and sending the teams into double-overtime. The cougars gave it their all during double overtime and won the game, 64-56.

Both the Oakton girls and boys varsity teams beat Chantilly, making every cougar proud. Both games were intense and the athletes battled their way to the win. The doubleheader was also a significant game in that the school held special recognitions during the halftimes. At halftime of the girl’s game, Oakton recognized teachers who received the end of the year awards from the 2015-16 school year. Then during the boy’s halftime, the school recognized the girls volleyball team for winning both the conference and regional championships in the fall.

A video of the incredible pass by Paul Campo and shot by Charlie Smith can be found below.

Until the next games — Go Cougars!

too much sauce @OaktonAthletics @CougarHoopsOHS @NOVAHoopcast @novahoopsCom @PaulCampo3 pic.twitter.com/jM61c70gqj

— charles (@charlie_smith21) February 4, 2017