The Duke’s Bull Run District Championship Preview: Clarke County vs Strasburg

2/18/26, Berryville VA- Clarke County hosts Strasburg in the Bull Run District Girls Basketball Championship Game with coverage starting around 7:30 pm on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, The River 95.3 app and TheRiver953.com for the first of two Hike Kidz Foundation Games of the Week c/o Brickhouse Bar and Grill (Boys Championship game will take place on Thursday).

Clarke County was pinned as the early favorites to repeat as Bull Run District Champions this season, but Strasburg made sure no one forgot about them after a 21-3 record and splitting with Clarke County in the regular season.

Strasburg upset Clarke County just 7 days ago at home 48-47 after a late Jayden Stinnette lay-up, but stumbled in their final regular season 56-51 to Central before a rematch three days later in the Bull Run District Semifinals where the Rams won 54-51.

In the win vs Clarke County, Strasburg snapped a 12 game Eagles win streak and limited All State Forward Alainah McKavaish to just 3 points in the first 3 quarters.

Limiting McKavish will be key to another chance at knocking off the Eagles.

In the first matchup between the schools in early January, McKavish dominated with a 21 point and 10 rebound performance and was one of five Eagles to knock down at least two 3-pointers.

McKavish leads Clarke in nearly every statistical category but has a strong and experienced supporting cast with 8/9 players returning from last years State Semifinal squad.

Paige McKavish (15.9 ppg) and Kendall Harman (10.5 ppg) join Alainah (20.6 ppg) in double digits while Savannah McCaw leads the Eagles with 4.1 assists per game and Paige Stemberger’s lock-down defense leads to 3.6 steals per game.

The Rams are led by seniors Emily Gorrell and Jayden Stinnette.

When Clarke County zeroed in on Gorrell last week, Stinnette made them pay with the game winner.

Gorrell leads the Rams in scoring with 17.8 per game and assists with 3.2 while Stinnette is just behind at 11.9 points per game and is the leading rebounder with 8.3 per game.

The duo is playing their best as the Rams enter the playoffs with both earning a double-double in the BRD semifinals.

Individually, Gorrell is on a tear with three straight games over 20 points.

Strasburg will have an advantage in coaching experience with Kelly Stinnette leading the bench for her third season while Coach Shadd McCaw is still in his first year as head coach.

While a loss tonight wouldn’t end either teams season, Clarke County should be in playoff mode and will look for revenge against the only team in Virginia to beat them this season.

I look for the Eagles to come out very aggressive and Alainah McKavish to be a little more “selfish” early to build a Clarke County lead then pull away for a 60-45 win.

For a regular season recap and playoff preview, check out last week’s Sports Dogs podcast here. 

Color commentator Josh Kirby spoke with Clarke County’s Shadd McCaw here. 

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here. 

The Duke’s Doubleheader Preview: Strasburg vs Central and Clarke vs Rappahannock

The Bull Run District Girls Basketball Semifinals take over Berryville tonight as #2 Strasburg faces off against #3 Central at 6 pm then #1 Clarke County hosts #4 Rappahannock County at 7:30 pm in the Van Metre Homes Games of the Week on The River 95.3, Fox Sports Radio 1450, theriver953.com, and The River 95.3 app.

Strasburg and Central wrapped up the regular season against each other last week on Friday, but these rivals left the Valentine’s Day cards at home.

The first half was extremely competitive and saw each team exchange runs before Strasburg pulled away with a 21-5 advantage in the 3rd quarter.

Central’s offense struggled from the floor shooting just 4/37 from two point range with only two made baskets in the second half and looked stagnant against Strasburg’s zone defense.

Strasburg’s balanced offensive approach saw three players reach double figures including our Player of the Game Emily Gorrell who finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals.

The win over Central gave Strasburg a share of the regular season District Championship with Clarke County, but the Eagles earned the #1 seed in the tournament through a tiebreaker.

Clarke County will welcome Rappahannock County for the second game of tonight’s doubleheader in a matchup of 2023 VHSL State Champions.

Rappahannock County is competing at the Class 2 level for the first time this season after dominating in Class 1 with deep playoff runs the last few seasons including that state title.

The Panthers are led by Chloe Jenkins who recently became the 4th player in school history to reach 1000 points and it only took her till her junior season.

Clarke County has already defeated Rappahannock County twice this season by an average margin of 43 and will earn the #1 seed in the Regional Tournament if they can go farther than Strasburg.

The #1 District seed has been led all season long by junior Alainah McKavish who averages over 20 ppg, 4 steals, and is the top free throw shooter in the area at 80.7%.

Alainah’s younger sister Paige has also stepped up as the season progressed with 19 points in her last game against Stonewall and averaging 18 points against Rappahannock County this season.

Both Strasburg and Clarke County will need to avoid looking ahead to the Championship Game because both Central and Rappahannock County have the talent and winning mentality to pull off the upset.

I believe Coach Stinette of Strasburg and Coach Dowling of Clarke County will have their teams focused for the first game of what they both hope is a long playoff run and secure wins to set up a Bull Run District Championship Game rubber match.

Strasburg’s interior defense will leave Central forcing difficult shots once again, Rams win 54-38.

Clarke County will look to pull away early like the previous two games against the Panthers and get some rest for their starters ahead of Thursday’s Championship Game, Eagles soar 78-45.