So when the ball found her again, not only did she knife through the Cardinals’ defense for a three-point play that gave the Wildcats their first lead since the opening minutes — an advantage they would never relinquish in a 64-52 win — but, when she bounced back up from the floor, her teammates were still unable to elicit a reaction out of her.
Well, for seven or eight shoves in three or four seconds, until a final shake of her biceps by three teammates jostled loose a slight smile. Nothing over-the-top — just the calm confidence her Wildcats needed, then mirrored, in a monster second half that lifted them to their first state semifinal appearance. On Friday, they will face Manchester from Midlothian.
Her reason for the tranquility?
“I was just thinking that I had to stay calm and collected until it’s over,” Parrott said. “You don’t rest until it’s over — like Kobe [Bryant] said.”
Well, that and the team’s preparation for a game such as this.
“We’ve worked so hard to build this winning culture, pushing each other in practice every day to make sure we’re prepared for these tough moments,” she said.
From 30,000 feet, Centreville (23-3) and Gainesville (20-7) had taken similar paths to the state quarterfinals. They began the year in The Post’s rankings despite being relative newcomers to contention. Centreville went on to win the first region title in program history. Both had versatile lineups that made Tuesday the sort of contest where no player was worth ignoring.
That lent itself to a tight first half in which Gainesville clung to a five-point advantage thanks to senior Ella Nhek’s two late three-pointers and sophomore Peyton White’s colossal efforts in the paint on both ends. But Centreville, buoyed by eight first-half points from sophomore Sofia Caraus, never looked out of its depth.
“We just had to push on defense, communicate. We knew that would bring offense in the second half,” Caraus said.
After Parrott’s three-point play, Caraus took over. She connected on two three-pointers late in the third quarter to give her team its first double-digit lead. Parrott’s 20 points, Caraus’s five threes and 17 points and senior Jahniya Marion’s 12 points paced the Wildcats.
“Staying calm [and] staying together, I think, is what really did it,” Caraus said.