DC – Washington Catholic Athletic Conference | Archive | December, 2008

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

There wasn’t much at the onset of the season that suggested this would be a season of firsts for the Paul VI girls basketball program. Paul VI returned three starters from last year’s team, but has only one senior and a bunch of newcomers.

Yet, the Panthers beat defending WCAC champion McNamara for the first time in program history on Dec. 11 and set another first on Tuesday.

This time Paul VI won its first ever holiday tournament with a 63-50 victory over Churchill in the Chick-Fil-A Holiday Classic at the Montgomery County public school in Potomac, Md.

In the past seven years, Paul VI has travelled to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla, Disney World, Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Miami among other winter destinations. Five of those seven years they’ve reached the tournament championship game. But the Panthers never hauled home the hardware.

“We’ve always been the one that got left at the dance,” Panthers Coach Scott Allen said. “There’s been heartbreakers, losses at the buzzer. But we’re still in the Christmas spirit, so we’ll take this win into the new year.”

In the hours leading up to Tuesday’s final, Allen informed the Panthers (9-2) of the team’s inability to close out tournament titles in recent years.

“We have to win,” said junior point guard Jess Escorza, who tranfered to Paul VI from Nortre Dame Academy this year. “We wanted it badly.”

Churchill (6-2) certainly made Paul VI work for it. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Paul VI scored 14 of the next 16 points. The Panthers got several easy buckets in a row off of turnovers caused by a full court press.

Once Paul VI got the lead in the first quarter, the Panthers never relinquished it. Yet Churchill never allowed the lead to balloon to more than 10 points until the game’s final minute as the two teams went back-and-forth trading important field goals.

“We just played tough and knew we had to pull it out at the end,” said Jasmine Murray, the Panthers’ lone senior.

Murray was pivotal down the stretch as Churchill cut the Panthers’ lead to five points on a Alex Vassila layup with about two minutes remaining. It was the closest Churchill had been since the first quarter.

Murray notched an and-one on a jumper that made the score 57-49 and followed that up with a steal on a lob back to Vassila — a play that plagued Paul VI all game. She then came up with an big offensive rebound and was fouled hard. Murray knocked down the pair of free throws to give the Panthers a 10-point lead

“I’m proud of my kids being able to close,” Allen said. “It was a challenge. They came after us and we came after them and it was a great game all the way to the end.”

Paul VI had to survive another challenge the night before in the semifinals. The Panthers trailed Butler Area, the No. 2-ranked team in the Pittsburgh area, until about a minute-and-a-half left in the game. Jessica Long hit 1-of-2 free throws with 11 seconds left to force Butler Area into a three-point situation and its final shot missed.

For Churchill, the loss doesn’t have much meaning. Coach Aubree Lawrence saw it as only a way to build more confidence considering the Bulldogs were facing a tough WCAC team.

And despite the loss, the Bulldogs showed that they have more than Vassila and fellow inside threat Marlena Phillips, who combined for 21 points. Churchill was led in scoring by sophomore guard Ashley Nelson with 14 points and got solid guard play from Kristy Tung and Angela Biciocchi.

“I’m very proud of their effort,” Lawrence said. “If you’re going to lose, this is the way you want to go down. If we continue to play like this in our conference, I think we’ll be good to go.”

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Andy States
SMAC Content Manager

After a relatively rough start to the season, with three consecutive losses to start things off, the Archbishop Carroll Lions were looking to steady the ship and end the year on a high note at the Panther Holiday tournament hosted by Patuxent High.

Carroll picked up some momentum heading into the New Year, with Devin Miller and Blake Price leading the Lions to an 83-68 win over Patuxent in Tuesday night’s tournament championship game. Miller scored a game-high 19 points, while Price, named the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 17 to help the Lions earn some tournament hardware and get the team’s record above the .500 mark before heading into the brunt of its arduous Washington Catholic Athletic Conference schedule.

“We defniitely needed a win,” Price said. “We were only 1-2 in the conference. This puts us at [5-4] overall, so we got above .500 with this tournament.”

Carroll (5-4) wasted no time in imposing its will on the host Panthers in the championship tilt. The Lions opened the game on a 9-0 run, capping the the flurry with a fast-break lay-up by Miller barely a minute into the game. Patuxent’s Justin Ford stopped the run with a three-pointer at the 6 minute 39 second mark to pull the Panthers to within six, but that was as close as the hosts would come the rest of the night.

After the Lions stretched the lead to as large as 15 in the first quarter, Patuxent (4-3) eventually cut the deficit back to six when Mike Swearingen‘s basket capped a 6-0 run late in the opening period. C.J. Shorter converted one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 26-19 early in the second, but Carroll proceeded to outscore the Panthers 23-10 the rest of the quarter to take a 49-29 lead into the half. 

Typical of its early-season performances, though, Patuxent battled back in the second half. After a winless 2007-08 season, the Panthers won three games before the holidays and then defeated North County in one of the tournament’s semifinal games. In the third quarter, Kenny Mullins opened up with a three-pointer to get Patuxent on track. That led to a five-minute stretch that saw Patuxent outscore Carroll 19-10 before the visitors called a timeout following Darryl Stewart’s basket with 3:24 remaining in the third.

“I was very pleased with the second half,” Patuxent coach John McGuffin said. “Not so much the first half, but obviously with the caliber of a Carroll team I’m very pleased with the overall tournament. I thought our second half showed that we can do some good things.”

Carroll responded to the run by scoring eight of the quarter’s final 10 points, five coming courtesy of Price, to again establish control of the game. Four Lions finished the game in double figures scoring, with Ahmad George tallying 13 points and DeVaughn Kerr 10 to support Miller and Price.

“Right now it’s going good,” Price said. “We started off slow, but we’re starting to pick it up, starting to build chemistry.”

Marcus Bullock scored 15 points to lead Patuxent’s effort. Bullock scored 11 of his total in the fourth quarter, and was the Panthers primary presence down low and on the boards throughout the game. C.J. Shorter scored 12, while Ford and Mullins each chippped in with 10.

Patuxent, at 0-1 in SMAC play at the break, will open the heart of its conference schedule next week with games against conference contenders Chopticon and North Point before finishing the week against county-rival Calvert.

“I really am thankful to the guys for battling back in the second half. This is getting ready for a tough week in SMAC,” McGuffin said. “The winless part of last season, it’s in us but it’s behind us. Win or lose, we’re using this as a springboard. The first half was not that springboard. The second half was.”

C.H. Flowers takes third

Kyle Evans scored 15 second-half points to lead C.H. Flowers (3-2) to a 56-52 win over North County (2-7) in the tournament’s consolation game. The Jaguars trailed 25-24 at the half, and trailed for much of the third quarter before a Derek Campbell field goal put Flowers in front 38-36 at the end of three. Evans then scored the first four points in the fourth to kick off an 12-2 Jaguars run to keep them ahead to stay.

Evans scored a game-high 24 points, while Davon Morris added 10. Ronald Morris and Jordan Diggs each tallied 13 to lead North County.

Championship game
Archbishop Carroll 83, Patuxent 68
AC    26    23    17    17
P    18    11    20    19
Carroll: Miller 19, Price 17, George 13, Kerr 10, Osse 7, Johnson 5, Dunkin 4, Thompson 4, Robinson 2, Manga 2
Patuxent: Bullock 15, Shorter 12, Ford 10, Mullins 10, Swearingen 4, Mindick 4, Stewart 4, Robinson 2, Gray 2, Walker 2, Roberts 2, Hunter 1

Consolation game
C.H. Flowers 56, North County 52
NC    11    14    11    16
CHF    16    8    14    18
North County: Fisher 13, Diggs 13, Kess 9, Dines 7, Davis 4, Manns 3, Beatty 3
Flowers: Evans 24, Morris 10, House 6, De. Campbell 4, Jackson 3, Wood 2, Johnson 1

Semifinals
Patuxent 81, North County 77
Justin Ford scored 21 points and Marcus Bullock contributed with a 19-point, 17-rebound night to help the Panthers past the Knights.

Archbishop Carroll 62, C.H. Flowers 51

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

***Be sure to click the videos link for highlights, trophy presentations, and interviews***

James A. McCray III
Prince George’s County, Content Manager

HOLIDAY HOOPS CLASSIC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP:

There is no arguing that the number three was more than nice to the Elizabeth Seton Roadrunners in the 11th Annual Holiday Hoops Classic girls’ basketball tournament.

Seton advanced to the championship played on Monday night –the third day of the tournament– for the third consecutive year and after finishing second place the past two tournament appearances, Seton won the tournament with a 61-46 victory over Robert E. Lee.

“I am really happy about winning this tournament because we have placed second two years in a row,” Seton head coach Jazz Perazic said.

“I am really happy for the kids because they have worked really hard. They have worked hard, they are a great group of kids, they care about each other, and they are everything that a team really should be.”

Putting the number three into play even further is the fact that Seton won each of its three games played in the tournament by outscoring its opponents big in the third quarters of each game, 24-6 and 20-6 in the first two games.

In the championship game against Lee, the third quarter scoring fest held true to form as Seton (7-1) outscored the Lady Lancers 22-12 including a 10-0 scoring run midway through the period turning an eight point halftime lead into a 20-point lead, 50-30, heading into the fourth.

“We go into the locker room and we know we have to get it together and play our own game,” Seton’s Tyaunna Marshall said. “We come out and play our own game, and that’s how we do it.”

Marshall averaged 17 points per game over the course of the three-day tournament –including her 19 points in the title game– and was named the Classic’s Most Valuable Player for her efforts.

“It’s a great feeling,” Marshall said of the honor, “but I know I couldn’t have got this far without my team.”

Lee (7-2) head coach Harold Jackson understood how important the third quarter was for his team in the championship game.

“We talked about that at halftime, about not letting it get away from us in the third quarter,” Jackson said. “We came out and actually stuck with them but in those last four minutes we started losing it.”

Priscilla Moseh put on a shooting display for Lee as she led the Lady Lancers with a game-high 26 points including six 3-point field goals and despite the loss; Jackson was impressed with his team’s performance over the course of the tournament.

“We had a good time,” Jackson admitted. “I thought they played well against Bladensburg who had just beaten North Point; North Point was ranked. And in our first game against Southern we played pretty good, and tonight, we just ran out of gas.”

To be noted in the loss, Lee was without one of its top players as senior Kristine Mial was out with an apparent knee injury, a fact even Perazic took note of.

“I have to be realistic as any coach should be,” Perazic said, “their best player was injured, and that made a difference.”

Seton’s Katelyn Marshall was the only other player to score in double digits in the win with 13 points respectively and, as a senior, she is more than happy with winning the tournament in her last opportunity to do so.

“It feels good, finally” Katelyn Marshall said.

Lee    —     10   8   12   16; Pr. Moseh 26, Jac. Williams 11, Pa. Moseh 9

Seton —     9   19   22   11; T. Marshall 19, K. Marshall 13, Stelfox 10, Weatherly 6, Albanese 4, Martin 4, Missouri 2, Bronstein 2, Murphy 1


Third-place game
Old Mill 43, Bladensburg 34
Ciarra Lucas led the Old Mill Lady Patriots with 15 points in a 43-34 victory over Bladensburg. Old Mill’s Kourtney Salisbury was the only other Lady Patriot in double digits with 10 points on the night.

A 15-6 first quarter paved the way for the Lady Patriots en route to its respective third-place finish in the tournament.

Jasmine Wallace led the Lady Mustangs of Bladensburg with 9 points in the efforts.


Fifth-place game
North Point 53, Westlake 43
In a meeting between two Southern Maryland Athletic Conference teams, the North Point Lady Eagles won its second consecutive tournament game with a 53-43 victory over the Westlake Lady Wolverines.

Robyn Parks paced the Eagles with a 14-point performance. Kyarra Harmon and Brittany Baker also scored in double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Westlake’s Shanice Goree led all Westlake scorers netting 12 points.

Seventh-place game
Southern 56, Gwynn Park 35
Averaging 17 points per game, Southern’s Jasmine Wills led the Lady Bulldogs to its first and only tournament win with 22 on the final day.

Teammate Raquelle Jones scored 16 points in the winning efforts.

Gwynn Park was led by three 6-point scorers as Karin Law, Siara Jackson, and Brittany Reeder each scored 6 points, respectively.

tmccray@digitalsports.com

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Riverdale Baptist defeated the previously top-ranked team in the country about a week before facing off against Good Counsel in the IAABO 134 Girls Basketball Christmas Tournament semifinals Saturday at C.H. Flowers.

So the Falcons should be no problem right?

Not so fast. DigiatalSports No. 5-ranked Good Counsel hung with No. 1 Riverdale Baptist all night, took a brief lead in the third quarter and had a chance to send the game to overtime in the final seconds.

But in the end, Riverdale Baptist moved on to Monday’s finals while Good Counsel had to settle for a hard-fought 47-42 loss.

Riverdale Baptist will now face Forest Park in the tournament championship at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Good Counsel will face C.H. Flowers, who lost to Arundel in the other semifinal, Monday at 4:30 p.m.

“I think it just shows we can play with anyone,” Good Counsel senior guard Katie Sheahin said. “Honestly, I don’t think that rankings mean anything. I think it’s whoever comes to play that night is going to win.”

Riverdale Baptist (9-2) took an eight-point lead with 1 minute, 22 seconds remaining, but the Falcons (8-1) charged back behind a Sarian Snyder layup and three-pointer by Kelsey Murphy.

Riverdale Baptist guard Rahneeka Saunders missed the front ends of one-and-ones with 26 and 13 seconds left to give Good Counsel two chances to tie. Gillian Abshire missed a two-pointer  on the first possession and Murphy had a three-pointer just miss with eight seconds left.

Saunders hit two free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining to seal the game.

“I thought it was going in,” Murphy said. “I was pretty upset when it didn’t. I thought it was a good shot though.”

Sisters Tianna Hawkins (10 points) and Tierra Hawkins (21 points) paced the Crusaders, who defeated Poly (Calif.) and Clovis West (Calif.) in the Nike Tournament of Champions last week. The Crusaders, who aren’t typically challenged much at home, were in for a battle Saturday.

“They were undermining us,” Tianna Hawkins said. “I was concerned, but I knew we were going to win this game. There was no way we were going to lose to this team.”

A Tierra Hawkins drive-and-1 gave the Crusaders a 17-8 lead in the second quarter, but Good Counsel charged back behind Symone Lyles (11 points), Bianca Hood and Sheahin — who was phenomenal early on – to bring the score to 23-19 at the half.

Still, Good Counsel Coach Tom Splaine wasn’t happy with the somewhat slow start.

 â€œI thought they were a little enamored by Riverdale Baptist,” Splaine said. “And they are a great team, but you have to come out and just do what you can do every night. That’s the most important thing we have to take from tonight.”

Good Counsel came out of the half strong and took a 26-23 lead behind two Snyder buckets and a layup by Murphy on a great pass from Sheahin.

Riverdale Baptist scored 13 of the next 15 points, however, to carry an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Crusaders got a couple of big steals that led to easy buckets and the Hawkins sisters started to connect from down low. The two sisters scored five of Riverdale Baptist’s nine fourth-quarter points while Saunders notched the other four.

“Dump it down to either me or my sister and we’re going to try to finish any way we can,” Tianna Hawkins said.

Good Counsel, who defeated a very good Arundel team 50-42 on Friday night, played superb defense Saturday. The Falcons held the Crusaders to less than 34 percent shooting and 18.2 percent from three-point range. But the Falcons shot worse than that in both categories.

“They’re a great team and stuff like that, but I really feel like we could have stepped up our game and played our basketball,” Splaine said. “We really need to measure ourselves against how well we can play, not how good another team is. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got to keep working on our offensive skills.”

Forest Park 54, C.H. Flowers 29

Danni Jackson led Forest Park to the championship game with 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Forest Park will face Riverdale Baptist Monday and then again on Jan. 5 in a regularly-scheduled game.

Forest Park led by only two points at the end of the first quarter but broke out with 18 points in the second quarter compared to just seven by the host school.

Forest Park went on an 11-1 run after the Jaguars tied the game at the start of the second quarter. Jackson scored nine of the 11 points during the decisive stretch.

Flowers was led in scoring by Nikia Gorham with eight points as the points were very balanced. The Jaguars committed 29 turnovers compared to just 11 by Forest Park, negating their rebounding advantage.

South County 49, Georgetown Visitation 48 (OT)

Simon Antwi scored the game-winning layup with 12 seconds remaining to lift South County to the overtime victory.

Antwi had a game-high 19 points, trailed by teammate Alex Brown with 15 points.

Brown hit a three-pointer with 55 seconds left in regulation to give South County (7-2) a one-point lead. Antwi blocked South County’s first shot on the next possession, but Nina Swanson of Visitation (10-1) rebounded it and got fouled on the put back with 32 seconds left. She made one free throw as part of her four points in the game to tie the game.

The two teams traded three-pointers at the start of overtime until Georgetown Visitation’s Maddy Williams hit a three-pointer with 1:46 left to take the lead. Neither team scored again until Antwi’s game-winning layup.

Largo 63, DuVal 43

Largo jumped out to a 24-13 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

Largo (5-1) was led by Cierra Johnson’s 14 points and 10 rebounds but got scoring from nine different players. Devon Eugene chipped in 11 points and Brittany Taylor and Alexis Holland each had eight.

DuVal (0-5) was led by Tamara Russell’s 12 points and Shaunice Carpenter’s 10.

Arundel 66, Blake 51

Arundel had four players in double-digit scoring to beat a solid Montgomery County team in Blake.

Blake took an 8-3 lead to start the game on a three-pointer by Faye Dunston, who notched 15 points in the game.  Arundel struck back behind field goals by six different players to take an 18-12 lead into the second quarter.

The Bengals (2-6) fought back to take a 23-21 lead with three minutes, 45 seconds left in the first half. But Virginia recruit Simone Egwu (9 points) scored six points to cap the half with Arundel ahead, 32-23.

Arundel (4-3) blew out Blake, 19-9, in the third quarter to take control of the game.

Wise 49, Northwestern 35

Wise improved to 5-1 on the season on the shoulders of Morgan Pope, who went 6-of-8 from the field in scoring a game-high 17 points. She also notched 12 rebounds, one fewer than teammate Jordan Swalls.

Wise led by just four points at halftime and six at the start of the fourth quarter after the two teams combined to score just 12 points in the third quarter. But Wise outscored Northwestern (3-3) 14-6 in the final quarter to seal the win. Swalls notched five rebounds and four points in the fourth quarter.

Northwestern was led by 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds (eight offensive, eight defensive) from Tayonna Jefferson.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

CLICK ABOVE FOR THE PHOTO GALLERY AND VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS AND INTERVIEWS!

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Ending the first day in first place was fun, but Tuscarora’s wrestling team still went to bed Friday night with the same goal it had when it entered the Damascus Holiday Tournament.

Place in the top three.

Then, surprisingly enough, the Titans entered Saturday’s championship finals still ahead, this time by just one point. And yet again, with just one finalist compared to multiple finalists by their challengers, they just hoped to hold on to a top three finish.

One by one, everybody Tuscarora needed to lose lost. And the big win the Titans had to have came from a freshman, who like his team had a worse showing in Tuscarora’s own, less-challenging tournament two weeks ago.

By the end, Tuscarora couldn’t believe it had just won the Damascus Holiday Tournament, beating last year’s champion Glenelg and Virginia’s South County by five points, 165-160. Georgetown Prep finished in fourth with 154 team points.

Tuscarora had just one champion – 135-pound freshman Austin Wenzlaff – and he was the only Titan in the finals. Tuscarora had two third-place finishers in  senior Robby McClughan and sophomore Johnny White, and eight placers in fifth, sixth and seventh. The Titans had 11 of their 13 wrestlers in the top eight.

By comparison, Glenelg, South County and Georgetown Prep had a combined nine wrestlers in the finals.

“I didn’t expect to be here right now, but it feels good,” Wenzlaff said. “I didn’t think I was going to win the semifinals match. I went out there and wrestled hard and did it again in the finals.”

Wenzlaff (12-2) beat Georgetown Prep’s Eric Fessell, 2-0, in the 135-pound final for the decisive match. After two scoreless periods Wenzlaff notched a reverse on the edge of the mat.

Wenzlaff was as shocked as anybody. He finished third at the Titan Thunder tournament two weeks ago and entered against a much tougher bracket this time around.

But despite being a freshman, Wenzlaff is accustomed to winning. He won states in fifth grade, placed seventh at Eastern Nationals and placed at states every year for the past seven years.

He’s the perfect example of the kind of wrestler Tuscarora Coach T.J. Salb expected to make a big impact in a year or two. But not this quickly.

“We knew we had the talent,” Salb said. “We just didn’t know it would come to fruition this quickly … I figured we might be still a year away from being at this point.”

Tuscarora got inspired performances from little-known wrestlers such as 189-pounder Nick Bradford, who won a combined 10 matches over the past two seasons while he shed more than 50 pounds of weight. Bradford pinned his way to a seventh place finish.

The Titans won all but one of their consolation finals matches after trailing Glenelg by 6.5 points entering the consolation finals. After Liberty’s Jeff Shea beat South County’s John Fitzgerald at 145, Tuscarora knew it had the title locked up and immediately swarmed to hug Shea – a complete stranger.

For Tuscarora, it’s the school’s first-ever tournament title.

“It made everyone on the team happy, made my coaches happy and most of all made my parents happy,” Wenzlaff said. “Coach said he’d make me honorary captain for a week, so that’s good.”

GLENELG ADJUSTING

When Glenelg won the Damascus Holiday Tournament last year, it did it largely behind its big guns in Chris Stinnett, Tim Chase and Danny Bichner — all of which won state 2A/1A championships last year.

But now that they have moved on, Glenelg is undergoing some major changes.

Unlike last season, the team ran on the first day of practice. It was a sign that unlike last year when the Gladiators could lean on their handful of dominant wrestlers, Glenelg was going to have to work harder as a team if it was going to have a chance at defending its state title this year.

Glenelg 119-pounder Zach Gerber and 125-pounder Brendan Conway took a step towards showing the Gladiators’ cupboards are still stocked, both winning titles to bring the Gladiators six points from defending their Damascus Holiday Tournament team championship.

Gerber beat Williamsport’s Kemper Baker, 2-1, and Conway eked out a 4-3 decision over Severna Park’s Brady Massaro, which looks like it could be the start of a rivalry this year. It is Conway’s second Damascus Holiday Tournament title.

Glenelg also had 160-pounder Billy Kuczarski in the finals. Had he won by pin, the Gladiators would have won the tournament. But Kuczarski lost to Georgetown prep’s Billy Gribbin, 13-5.

“It’s a lot more serious now,” said Gerber, who notched his first tournament victory. “We have to set an example for everyone else in the room.”

BANNISTER IS OUTSTANDING AGAIN

When Andrew Bannister’s career record of 174-19 heading into the Damascus Holiday Tournament finals was announced, the crowd gasped in disbelief and applauded him before the match even started.

In a Maryland public school, 100 career wins is a major milestone. What Bannister has done at the WCAC’s Bishop McNamara, a school without much of any wrestling tradition, is remarkable.

Bannister built on his legacy by winning his second Damascus Holiday Tournament title in convincing fashion, 9-1, over Potomac’s Kaison Tanabe in one of the evening’s highest-anticipated finals. He was also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

It’s not every day that a three-time private school state champion goes against someone who has actually beaten him. Tanabe beat Bannister once in three meetings last year, knocking him out of title contention at the St. Albans tournament.

“He’s kind of strong, so I have to keep working on him and break him down,” Bannister said before the match.

Bannister did just that, methodically picking Tanabe apart throughout the match en route to a 9-1 major decision victory. Being named Outstanding Wrestler is nothing new either, as he was also named the Outstanding Wrestler at all three state championships he won.

“That would be pretty nice to keep piling them up,” Bannister said, looking ahead to a Damascus title. But while capturing the Damascus crown is quite an accomplishment, Bannister has bigger goals for the season.

“My motivation this year is to make it to the finals and try to win National Preps this year,” said Bannister, who took fourth at Nationals last year.

A TRIUMPHANT RETURN FOR MROHS

It seemed like the perfect idea for Wootton heavyweight Kevin Mrohs to take off last season from wrestling. He wanted to hone his body for a potential college football scholarship, which paid off with a trip to the playoffs.

Just one problem, though. He missed wrestling.

Mrohs started to miss wrestling after sitting out all last year and has returned even better this season. He is now 11-2 on the season and has tournament championships at the Titan Thunder and Damascus Holiday Tournament.

Mrohs defeated Liberty’s Dan Duvall, 5-3, in Saturday’s finals. He won a 5-3 decision in the semifinals and via a pair of pins before that.

“I just missed it,” Mrohs said. “I realized it like the physical workout. It’s so intense. Just beating people one-on-one, its different then taking the whole team on.”

NICHOLS FEELING THE URGENCY

After placing second at states as a sophomore, a lot was expected of Severna Park’s Billy Nichols last year. First there were swollen glands in his throat, then came the mono.

After dropping 15 pounds, Nichols wrestled in the state tournament and didn’t even place. This was after placing second at Mount Mat Madness, a tournament considered more difficult than the Maryland state tournament.

“I’m looking to win it this year,” Nichols said. “A state title is my main goal and it’s my senior year so it’s what I need to do.”

But first things first, Nichols took care of business at the Damascus Holiday Tournament, pounding Williamsport’s Robbie Mies, 10-1, in the 215-pound finals. Mies finished fifth in the 2A/1A state tournament last year and had pinned his way to the finals.

Nichols got up 4-0 early and never relented, showing the urgency to dominate this season.

After finally getting healthy in April last year, after the wrestling season was over, Nichols went to Junior Nationals to show what he had. He came one place from placing, showing just how talented Nichols is.

“I had so many expectations and everybody expected me to do so well,” Nichols said. “There’s a lot of pressure on my from my coaches and especially my dad so I’ve been training hard.”

REPRESENTING FOR VIRGINIA

South County was one of just two Virginia schools entered in the tournament and the lone public school of the two. The Virginia residents nearly showed Maryland how it’s done.

South County put two wrestlers in the finals, and although both lost it was a good showing.

Senior 103-pounder Patrick Shaffer pinned his way into the finals, where he met Eric Friedman of St. Paul’s, who placed eighth at the prestigious Beast of the East already this season. Shaffer held his own but fell, 4-0.

Still, even placing that high is an accomplishment for Shaffer, who now just has two losses on the season and became the school’s first district champion last year. Shaffer has come a long way since the days when he weighed about 84 pounds as a freshman.

“Once you’re giving up 14, 15, sometimes 20 pounds to kids, it’s hard to battle,” South County Coach Andy Jimmo said. “He was still a tough kid, fought through all the way.”

“I always had the technique,” Shaffer added. “But technique only goes so far when you’re giving up 20 pounds.”

Shaffer began to start growing last year and finally was up to a healthy 103 pounds. Steadily, his record improved to the point where he feels he should be competing for some major hardware this season.

“This is the first year I’ve actually been the biggest kid in my weight class,” Shaffer said. “I think it helped out now with all the experience and wresting kids bigger than me.”

FRIEDMAN CONTINUES HOT START

He’s only a freshman and we’re not even into the New Year and St. Paul’s 103-pounder Eric Friedman’s wins are already starting to blur together.

After beating Shaffer in the finals, Eric said he wasn’t sure whether this was his first tournament victory or not. It may be memorable considering it came against a senior while Friedman is just starting what could be a long career of collecting medals.

Friedman did, however, know that he placed eighth at Beast of the East, where some of the nation’s best wrestlers come to play. He is now 17-3 on the season.

“I knew I had a tough match and I’m just glad I wrestled well,” Friedman said. “ I’m used to being the smallest so it’s nice to have someone older than me at the same weight.”

THE REPEATERS

Below is a brief recap for those wrestlers who repeated as Damascus Holiday Tournament champions.

Gonzaga 112-pounder Paul O’Neill was nearly on his back in the first few seconds of his match but quickly got a reverse and stuck Pete Galli of St. Paul’s in one minute, 32 seconds.

“I noticed he was high and I just stepped around and stuck with it and got him on his back,” O’Neill said. “He was good. Thank God I pinned him in the first.”

Walkersville brothers Tyler (140) and Zach White (152) each repeated as Damascus Holiday Tournament champions as well. Both were aggressive in the finals and scored easy wins.

Tyler beat Wootton’s Eric Mears, 14-2, and Zach topped Randle Hernandez of Bullis, 7-1.

“It feels good to get this one for our new coach,” Zach White said.

TEAM SCORES

1. Tuscarora – 165.00
2. Glenelg – 160.00
    South County – 160.00
4. Georgetown Prep – 154.00
5. Liberty – 123.00
6. Severna Park – 108.50
7. Williamsport – 103.50
8. Wootton – 103.00
9. Landon – 94.50
10. St. Pauls – 93.00
11. Good Counsel – 89.00
12. Calvert Hall – 76.00
13. Damascus – 74.50
14. Churchill – 65.50
15. Bullis – 58.00
16. Walkersville – 57.00
17. Bishop McNamara – 55.50
18. Gonzaga – 35.50
19. Potomac School – 19.50

FINALS RESULTS

103 – Eric Friedman (St. Pauls) dec. Patrick Shaffer (South County), 4-0
112 – Paul O’Neill (Gonzaga) fall Pete Galli (St. Pauls), 1:32
119 – Zach Gerber (Glenelg) dec. Kemper Baker (Williamsport), 2-1
125 – Brendon Conway (Glenelg) dec. Brady Massaro (Severna Park), 4-3
130 – Andrew Bannister (McNamara) maj. Kaison Tanabe (Potomac), 9-1
135 – Austin Wenzlaff (Tuscarora) dec. Eric Fessell (Georgetown Prep), 2-0
140 – Tyler White (Walkersville) maj. Eric Mears (Wootton), 14-2
145 – Jeff Shea (Liberty) dec. John Fitzgerald (South County), 5-1
152 – Zach White (Walkersville) dec. Randle Hernandez (Bullis), 7-1
160 – Billy Gribbin (Georgetown Prep) maj. Billy Kuczarski (Glenelg), 13-5
171 – Tony Gardner (Calvert Hall) fall Giancarlo Zerega (Georgetown Prep), 2:39
189 – Junioe Monzey (Georgetown Prep) dec. Cullen Cassidy (Landon), 3-2
215 – Billy Nichols (Severna Park) maj. Robbie Mies (Williamsport), 10-1
285 – Kevin Mrohs (Wootton) dec. Dan Duvall (Liberty), 5-3

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manger, Washington D.C. Area

*Click the Photo and Video links above for multimedia from all Saturday’s games.

Yorktown 45, C.D. Hylton 33

*CLICK HERE for videos from this game only.
*CLICK HERE for photos from this game only.

Yorktown crouched around Coach Kim Cordell in the huddle. The team trailed C.D. Hylton by two points after the third quarter, and Cordell stressed heightened pressure, hoping the team’s defense would limit Bulldog baskets.

There is no way she could have anticipated how seriously the Patriots would heed that advice.

Yorktown held Hylton scoreless for all but :22 seconds of the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 45-33, opening-round win at the Pohanka Chantilly Classic Basketball Tournament on Saturday.

Only a three-pointer from Bulldog freshman Tamara Majette prevented a Patriot shutout in the final period.

“That’s one thing I think is our strongest suit, the defensive that we have,” Cordell said. “When the girls put their mind to it and we all work together, we have the mindset that nothing is going to get passed us.”

Added sophomore Lena Negri: “We were pretty slow in the beginning, but we hustled — and brought back the win — at the end.”

The only thing more noticeable than Yorktown’s seamless transition from stopping the Bulldog motion offense to the fluid Patriot fast break was Negri at the heart of it.

The athletic sophomore scored eight points in the final period and was a defensive 

Negri finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, nine steals, one steal shy of a triple-double. She added three blocks and three assists.

“She’s like a gazelle,” Cordell said of Negri. “It’s awesome to have a player like that, who’s so versatile. We can use her at the offensive and defensive end.

“She’s trying to dunk. And she totally can.”

Yorktown       8   9  11 17  —  45
C.D. Hylton     8  12 10  3   —  33

Yorktown — Charity 7 1-1 15; Rennert 4 7-8 15; Negri 5 2-10 12; Manger 1 0-0
3. Team totals: 17
10-19 45. C.D. Hylton — T. Heslip 6 2-2 14; Majette 3 0-0 7; Nguetta 3 1-3 7; S. Heslip 1 1-2 3; Boyd 1 0-0 2; Oliver 0 0-1 0. Team totals: 14 4-7 33. Three pointers — Yorktown 1 (Manger); C.D. Hylton 1 (Majette).

West Springfield 74, Bishop Ireton 31

*CLICK HERE for videos from this game only.

*CLICK HERE for photos from this game only.

Against uncommon opponents, it is always beneficial to grab the early lead.

The Spartans took that to heart on Saturday morning.

West Springfield jumped to a 13-point lead by the end of the first quarter on its way to a 74-31 win over Bishop Ireton, from the WCAC.

The win avenges the Spartans only loss of the season, which came to undefeated, WCAC-favorite Good Counsel, 56-50 on December 6.

“This builds our confidence more,” said senior Sam Landers, who scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the opening period. “And [it] builds on what we already had. We started with a good foundation and now we’re just building off that.

“Our team really came together. We passed really well, we finished well, so it was really a team effort.”

Among the most recognizable — and frequent — passers and finishers was Spartan freshman April Robinson.

Robinson’s 16 points were second only to Landers, but her role distributor was even more influential. Robinson recorded five of her game-high nine assists during a three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter.

She even had six steals and hit four three-pointers.

“If I start making my shot, it just keeps going,” Robinson said. “But I get great passes from my teammates, which helps me hit open shots.”

West Springfield (7-1) is the second highest-scoring team in the Northern Region at 64.1 points per game. Its recent string of decisive victories only supports its region-wide, preseason nomination as a favorite to reach the state tournament.

Landers has watched this program rise gradually over the last three seasons from perpetual Patriot bridesmaid to immediate front-runner.

“It was fun seeing it grow and I liked being a part of it,” said Landers, who outscored the Cardinals by herself, 10-8, in the first quarter. “Having new, younger players come in, that’s the best part. You get to teach them and you learn from them and they learn from you.

“The whole mix of types of people we have on the team is coming together and working well together.”

Bishop Ireton          8   7  11  5   —  31
West Springfield   21 14 20 19  —  74

Bishop Ireton
— Baldwin 6 0-0 12; Robinson 2 1-2 5; Ale. Thurmond 2 0-2 4; Ala. Thurmond 1 2-2 4; Downie 1 0-0 2; Habib 1 0-0 2; Daguilh 0 2-6 2. Team totals: 13 5-12 31. West Springfield — Landers 9 0-0 18; Robinson 6 0-0 16; Sham 4 0-0 11; Miller 3 2-2 8; Todd 2 3-4 7; Turay 2 0-0 4; Battle 2 0-2 4; Gaston 1 0-1 2; Brassfield 0 2-2 2; Evans 0 2-4 2. Team totals: 29 9-15 74. Three pointers — Bishop Ireton 0; West Springfield 7 (Robinson 4, Pham 3).

South County 68, Falls Church 62

*CLICK HERE for videos from this game only.

*CLICK HERE for photos from this game only.

As part of a popular 1980s Nike campaign, a character named Mars, played by Spike Lee, coined, “Money, it’s gotta be the shoes.”

The line linked Michael Jordan‘s hardwood success to his Air Jordan basketball shoes.

Twenty years later, Stallion nation is taking a more affordable step closer to the skin.

And, Money, it’s gotta be socks.

South County, who entered its Pohanka Chantilly Basketball Tournament against Falls Church without a win through seven games, revitalized a short-lived tradition of wearing colorful, un-matching high socks on holidays.

And the Stallions got what seemed an inevitable first victory of the season, 68-62, over the Jaguars on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s just tradition,” said junior Gabe Jackson, who sported baby blue socks with snowmen and a stretched-out Santa head. “We started it a while ago. We have to keep it going because it’s good luck in the tournaments and … on Valentine’s Day and Christmas.”

Likely more important than creative, colorful cotton, was timely contributions from Jackson and fellow junior Antonio Butler.

After Falls Church jumped to a seven-point lead late in the first quarter, the Stallion offense focused on Jackson, who scored nine of his 14 points in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

Then, when the Jaguars rallied to cut the Stallion lead to two points at the end of the third quarter, Butler got the call. 

The 6-feet-3-inch swingman scored 16 of his game-high 20 points after halftime.

“The second half is usually my half,” said Butler, who shot an efficient 7-for-12 from the field. “I started the game with kind of a slow start in the first half. But, in the second half, I tried to make sure my team had a chance to win the game.”

Added Jackson, who shot 4-for-6 from the floor: “They give me the ball when I’m feeling it, so I can hit the shots and help out the team.”

The Stallions need that balanced contribution not only for the duration of the Pohanka Tournament, but once Patriot District play resumes in early January.

That, or they can broaden their sock-wearing holidays.

For South County’s trip to Annandale January 6, they should wear colorful cotton to pay homage to National Cuddle Day. And when defending state champion T.C. Williams visits January 13, put the sock theory to the test on International Skeptics Day.

It couldn’t hurt.

Falls Church        20 13 15 14  —  62
South County      15 18 17 19  —  68

Falls Church — Jones 8 0-0 17; Gerima 6 3-4 17; Hansen 3 4-4 10; Medlej 3 2-2 10; Gotcher 1 0-0 3; Alamin 0 3-6 2; Eusebio 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 22
12-16 62. South County — Butler 7 6-9 20; Jackson 4 4-6 14; Colbourn 4 2-2 10; Rector 2 2-4 7; Gonzalez 1 2-2 4; Townsend 1 2-2 4; Duckett 1 0-0 2; Lanigan 1 0-0 2; McDaniels 1 0-0 2; Van **** 1 0-0 2; Watkins 0 1-2 1. Team totals: 23 19-27 68. Three pointers — Falls Church 6 (Gerima 2; Medlej 2; Gotcher, Jones); South County 3 (Jackson 2, Rector).

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By James A. McCray III
Prince George’s County, Content Manager

HOLIDAY HOOPS CLASSIC GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: DAY 2 RECAP

Winner’s bracket semifinals:
Game 1
Robert E. Lee 49, Bladensburg 28 (6 p.m.)

The Robert E. Lee Lady Lancers had one thing on its mind coming into its semi-final contest with the Bladensburg Lady Mustangs Saturday night, defense. Lee head coach Harold Jackson and the Lady Lancers wanted to earn a trip to the tournament championship game scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. and after Saturday’s performance, consider its ticket punched.

Lee (7-1) held Bladensburg to 2 points in the first and third quarters of the game en route to its 49-28 victory, thus proving that defense does not only win championships, but gets you to the championship as well.

“It feels really good,” said Lee’s Priscilla Moseh on advancing to the tournament’s title game. “Coach gave us an incentive that they were giving out a big prize at the end, and that has been our incentive every day because we want the big prize at the end.”

Moseh played a vital role for the Lancers defensively putting constant pressure on the guards of Bladensburg and also offensively as she scored a game-high 17 points.

“She plays good,” Jackson said of Moseh. “She can handle the pressure and she can play under any circumstance. She has been playing varsity since her freshman year so she can handle it. … This year she is ready to run the show.”

Despite the high offensive output by Lee, it was defense that propelled the Lady Lancers to a victory.

As the game remained within reach for the Mustangs going into the half, Lee put the game out of reach with a 20-2 quarter and cruised to the victory.

“We saw some things that went on late in the second quarter,” Jackson added, “so we just switched the defense up. They had some problems with the new defense that we played and we got a lot of turnovers and easy buckets.”

Bladensburg (5-1) was led in scoring by Joelle Hill as she scored 10 points and was the only Lady Mustang in double figures.

Bladensburg    —   2   10   2   16; Hill 10, Ahaiwe 8, Wallace 4, Perkins 4, Davis 2
Robert E. Lee  —  13   12  20   4; Pr. Moseh 17, Williams 14, Mial 9, Pa. Moseh 6, Everett 2, Kolonich 1

Game 2 (8 p.m.)
Elizabeth Seton 65, Old Mill 48
For the third consecutive year, the Elizabeth Seton Roadrunners will play in the Holiday Hoops Classic tournament championship game. And after losses in both of the previous years, the Roadrunners hope that the third time is in fact the charm.

In arguably the most highly anticipated game of the night, Seton defeated previously undefeated Old Mill Lady Patriots 65-48 to earn its third trip to tournament’s title game.

“We keep losing it and this year I am thinking we have to win it,” Seton head coach Jazz Perazic said jokingly.

The game more than lived up to its pre-game hype as both teams played at a fanatic pace in the first half exchanging baskets and providing end-to-end action. The two teams played an evenly-matched contest so much so that the two clubs went into the half tied at 23.

And as the game remained just as close for the better parts of the third period, a 10-0 scoring run to close the quarter seemingly was too much for the Lady Patriots to overcome as Seton pulled away to the victory.

Seton (6-1) was paced by the inside-outside combination of Tyaunna Marshall and Alex Stelfox. As Marshall scored 21 points with an array of jumpers and lay-ups, Stelfox scored all of her 20 points, respectively, inside of the paint.

The third quarter has been the turning point of each of Seton’s first two games as a 26-4 third quarter helped in its opening-round game against Westlake.

“First we came out here and we were sluggish,” Marshall said. “But we came out of the halftime once again. We told ourselves we had to get ready and we had to go to the championship. We had to play our game and play hard.”

“We go in at the halftime and we talk to each other and we [know] we have to bring it out in the third quarter,” Stelfox added.

Old Mill (6-1) dropped its first game of the season with the loss and was paced by Ciarra Lucas’ game-high 22 points.

Old Mill    —    10   13   6   19; Lucas 22, Salisbury 8, Conley 5, Smith 5, Pinkcett 4, Atkinson 4
Seton      —    11   12   20 22; T. Marshall 21, Stelfox 20, Albanese 8, K., Marshall 8, Martin 6, Missouri 2

Consolation bracket:
North Point 46, Southern 43 (2 p.m.)
As missed shots bounced off of the rim and into the air in Saturday afternoon’s contest with the North Point Lady Eagles and Southern Lady Bulldogs one thing was clearly evident, No. 21 in a North Point jersey was going after it.

That 21 jersey belonged to that of North Point’s Brittany Baker as she pulled down 17 rebounds to go alongside her 11 points in North Point’s 46-43 victory over Southern.

“I know when they take foul shots, I have to go up there and pull [the rebound] down and put it back up there nice and strong and make the layups for my team,” Baker said.

“Literally, she kept us in the game with her mental toughness,” North Point head coach Keith Spencer said. “That is one area that we never have to worry about with Brittany. She is mentally tough, she is always focused, she is always working her tail off, and today that helped us, it really did.”

Although North Point earned the victory, it found itself down 1 point, 41-40, with only 2 minutes remaining in the game. However, North Point’s Tiara Butler knocked down a jumper giving the Eagles the lead for good at 42-41. 

The win allowed North Point (6-1) to bounce back from its opening-day loss on Friday to Bladensburg.

“It feels good to have a better taste in your mouth,” Spencer said. ” … I just knew that we were better than how we played [on Friday]. We didn’t have a glorious performance today, but we fought. I think if we continue to do that, we will be alright in any type of game that we play.”

Southern’s Jasmine Wills led the Bulldogs with a game-high 18 points on the day.

Southern    —   12   11   13   7; Wills 18, F. Jones 9, R. Jones 9, Beall 4, Eckard 3
North Point  —   9    17   15  14; Baker 11, Parks, 11 Stewart 7, Butler 5, Brown 5, Harmon 4, Thompson 2, Adams 1

Westlake 58, Gwynn Park 28 (4 p.m.)
Looking to bounce back from their respective opening-day losses, the Westlake Lady Wolverines took on the Gwynn Park Lady Yellow Jackets in the second game of day 2.

Westlake opened a 16-4 lead early in the first quarter and never looked back en route to its 58-28 victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Using its full-court pressing defense, the Wolverines earned many un-contested lay-up opportunities to earn the win.

“It was a lot better performance today, we executed better,” Westlake head coach Andrew Norris said. “We didn’t execute at all [on Friday] and that was the main focus today, to execute some things.”

Westlake’s Shanice Goree led all Westlake scorers with 12 points as the Wolverines had 11 different players — its entire roster — score in the victory.

“We were kind of recuperating from [Friday] because we didn’t do too well,” Goree said.

On what she likes about this year’s team, Gore added: “This year we work hard. We play as a team and [the] defense.”

Gwynn Park was led in scoring by Kirstin Mobley and Jasmine Simms as both respectively netted eight points. 

Gwynn Park    —   6   10   4   14; Mobley 8, Simms 8, Jackson 4, Alexander 4, Law 2, Black 2,
Westlake        —  18  12  13  15; Goree 12, Bell 8, Jones 8, Davis 7, Jones Harris 6, Swann 4, Barr 4, Brown 3, Beckett 2, Young 2, Malone 2


Championship Game: Monday, 8 p.m.
Robert E. Lee vs. Elizabeth Seton

Additional Monday games (All games to be played at Washington Bible College)
Southern vs. Gwynn Park, 2 p.m.
North Point vs. Westlake, 4 p.m.
Bladensburg vs. Old Mill, 6 p.m.


tmccray@digitalsports.com

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

***Be sure to click the videos link for complete day one highlights***

By James A. McCray III
Prince George’s County, Content Manager

The Maryland Basketball Officials Association kicked off its 11th annual Holiday Hoops Classic girls basketball tournament on Friday, hosted by Washington Bible College.

The tournament features eight local teams including North Point and Westlake (SMAC), Bladensburg and Gwynn Park (Prince George’s), Old Mill and Southern (Anne Arundel), Elizabeth Seton (WCAC), and Robert E. Lee (Northern Virginia).

The tournament takes place over three days and with Friday already in the books, games are scheduled for Saturday and the tournament will conclude Monday night.

As four teams emerged victorious on day one of competition, all players from the winning side can agree that earning an opening-round victory was much better than any Christmas gift.

Day 2 scheduled game times:2 p.m. North Point vs. Southern; 4 p.m. Gwynn Park vs. Westlake; 6 p.m. Bladensburg vs. Robert E. Lee; 8 p.m. Old Mill vs. Seton

HOLIDAY HOOPS CLASSIC GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: DAY 1 RECAP

Game 1
Bladensburg 45, North Point 40
Both of the respective teams came into the opening-tournament game with zeros in the loss column as the North Point Lady Eagles held a 5-0 record and the Bladensburg Lady Mustangs held a 4-0 record, respectively.

Only one team however was going to end the day with a zero still in place and as the Lady Mustangs overcame three separate five-point deficits in the final quarter of play, it would in fact be Bladensburg earning that right with a 45-40 defeat of the previously undefeated Eagles. 

“I thought they played well,” Bladensburg head coach Lester Butler said. “They took their time and they played under control. … I don’t think they played the way we have [been playing] initially, but I think we had a few kids still celebrating Christmas.”

As North Point stretched its lead to 38-33 with 3 minutes remaining in the game –its third of three five-point leads– Bladensburg worked its way back slowly chipping at the lead until a Joelle Hill basket gave it the lead at 39-38.

Hill’s basket was followed by a basket by center Ucheci Ahaiwe to further increase the lead to 41-38, all of the cushion needed for the victory.

“We just realized that we can’t fall under and we can’t fold under pressure,” Ahaiwe said of the team’s fourth quarter thoughts. ” … We were tired, they were tired too, and we just had to prove that we had more heart and we had to play.”

Ahaiwe led all scorers with a game-high 16 points, nine of which coming in the critical fourth quarter.

Robyn Parks led all North Point scorers with 14 as teammate Tiara Butler put in 13.

North Point    —    7   8   12   13; Parks 14, Butler 13, Stewart 10, Baker 2, Harmon 1
Bladensburg  —    9   7    7    22; Ahaiwe 16, Wallace 10, Hill 9, Proctor 5, O’Garro 2, Perkins 2, Davis 1

Game 2
Robert E. Lee 64, Southern 42
In only her second game back from a stress fracture injury and despite being limited to only 4 minutes of action per quarter, Lee’s Kristine Mial scored 20 points to lead all tournament day-one scorers as the Lee Lady Lancers defeated the Southern Lady Bulldogs 64-42.

“It feels really good, I [have] been anxious,” Mial said of getting back in the flow of things on the court. “I am not usually one to sit on the bench so I have just been waiting to come back. I just had so much built up inside of me, it was fun.”

Lee (6-1) jumped out to an 11-1 lead to open the game as its constant defensive pressure turned into easy offensive opportunities and eventually to the win.

“We tried to put some defensive pressure on them to force some turnovers,” Lee head coach Harold Jackson said. “We got some early turnovers and we made some shots early. … We wanted to try and get out to a fast start and go on like that, and they did that tonight.”

On Mial’s performance, Jackson added: “She is a big plus on the court. … She just got cleared to play last week and she did well. We needed her big time.”

Lee also had two additional double-digit scorers as Priscilla Moseh scored 14 and Markel Yates scored 13 points, respectively. 

Raquelle Jones led Southern with 13 points on the night.

Southern    —     6   17   7   12; Jones 13, Wills 11, F. Jones 9, Eckard 5, Mcllrath 2, Rosenburg 2
Lee            —    15  16  18  15; Mial 20, Pr. Moseh 14, Yates 10, Jac. Williams 7, Pa. Moseh 7, Kolonich 4, Jas. Williams 2

Game 3
Old Mill 54, Gwynn Park 38
One look at the post-game scorebook and it is clearly evident, the list of players scoring for the Old Mill Lady Patriots is long. In the third game of the opening day, the Lady Patriots took on the Gwynn Park Yellow Jackets and used its depth to earn a 54-38 victory.

“That’s one thing that we have,” Old Mill head coach Craig White responded when asked about team depth. “If we want to play that pressure style, a lot of teams say they want to play eight to 10 deep, but we actually truly feel that we are eight to 10 deep.”

Not only do the Lady Patriots go deep on the bench player-wise, but the depth at the guard position runs deep as well.

Tonight, Old Mill (6-0) was led by guards Ciarra Lucas as she led with a team-high 13 points, Kourtney Salisbury who scored 9 points and dished out 5 assists, and guard Shante Atkinson as she scored 8 points, respectively. 

“We came in focused because, of course, it was a holiday and we are coming off of Christmas break, and we need to get out little work in for our season,” Lucas said. ” … We want to win it all so we came in with a lot of energy.”

“Our guard play is extremely strong,” White added. “We have the three of the top guards, we think, in Anne Arundel County [Lucas, Salisbury, and Atkinson]. They all work real well together and we are able to distribute the ball and so forth and so on.

“The major key is that all of our [power forwards and centers] are all sophomores and juniors and they come ready to play. One of our main concerns coming in was would we be able to rebound … and things seem to be working the right way.”

Kirstin Mobley had a game-high 15 points to lead the Yellow Jackets.

Gwynn Park    —     6   7   12   13; Mobley 15, Lee 7, Simms 6, Jackson 4, Law 3, Black 3
Old Mill          —    11  11  17  15; Lucas 13, Salisbury 9, Smith 9, Atkinson 8, Conley 6, Pinkcett 4, Hawkins 2, Sharps 2, Rijos 1

Game 4
Elizabeth Seton 65, Westlake 41
The final game of the opening day of the tournament for the Elizabeth Seton Roadrunners was a tale of two halves. In the first half of its contest with the Westlake Wolverines, Westlake controlled the pace of the game, so much so that it went into the half with a 22-19 lead.

However, a 9-0 scoring run to open the second half and a 10-0 scoring run later in the quarter catapulted the Roadrunners to a 65-41 victory.

“We started off slow,” Seton’s Tyaunna Marshall admitted. “We were playing around before the game and started off very slow. We couldn’t do anything, we couldn’t play defense, and we couldn’t run the offense. We went into the locker room at halftime and got ourselves together.”

Seton (5-1) in fact got itself together turning a 3-point deficit into a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

“First of all, I don’t believe I have seen us play this bad ever in this my third year here,” Seton head coach Jazz Perazic said. “They are great kids, and they work really hard … and I went in and kind of just yelled at them a little bit, and I think it got to them.”

Westlake’s Shanice Gorce led all of the Wolverines in scoring with 14 points.

Westlake    —     15   7   6   13; Gorce 14, Bell 6, Barr 6, Jones Harris 5, Davis 4, Young 4, Beckett 2
Seton         —     9   10  24  22; Marshall 13, Stelfox 10, Missouri 8, Murphy 8, Martin 7, Weatherly 7, Marshall 4, Royster 4, Albanese 4

tmccray@digitalsports.com

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Gonzaga junior Duke recruit Tyler Thornton gives sophomore Cahli Thomas a tough time in practice.

Even when Thomas and the rest of the Gonzaga underclassmen do something good in practice, Thornton brushes it off.

But after bailing out the No. 6-ranked Eagles Tuesday night against Good Counsel, Thornton said he’s going to cut Thomas a break.

Coming off the bench to replace Thornton, Thomas hit a three pointer with 2.3 seconds left in regulation to send Tuesday’s game to overtime. From there, Gonzaga capitalized on a stunned Good Counsel squad to give the Eagles their first conference win, 80-76.

“He stepped up today,” Thornton said with a smile. “I think we have to let up a little bit.”

If Thornton had not fouled out of the game with 37 seconds to go in
regulation, it likely would have been him taking the game-tying shot.
Instead it went to Thomas, a sophomore still trying to adjust to the
varsity rigors.

“I want the ball. I think I prepare myself for
these types of games and that type of shot,” Thomas said. “I was a
little nervous, but I overcame it. It was a good shot.”

Thomas,
who is in his first season on varsity, said that he feels he has earned
Thornton’s trust through practice, where the two often go head-to-head.
Trust isn’t a given, Thomas said, so he values it greatly and feels
there is a great obligation that comes along with it.

“I took my
bumps and bruises and stuff,” Thomas said. “The older guys, they get me
ready for games like this. … I look back and see that’s what practice
is all about. It makes me want to work even harder and see how good I
can become.”

Thornton picked up his fourth foul with six minutes, nine seconds remaining in regulation. At that point, he had scored 21 of Gonzaga’s 47 points. He returned with 1:55 left, but picked up his fifth foul with 37 seconds to go.

Princeton-bound senior forward Ian Hummer stepped up, scoring three straight field goals in the final minute of regulation to keep Gonzaga (6-1) always just a field goal behind. Hummer finished with 21 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“I know that since Tyler fouled out they needed a leader,” Hummer said. “So I tried to dish and score whenever possible.”

On the other end of the court, Good Counsel’s Rodney Glasgow sunk nine straight free throws to keep the Falcons (6-3) continually ahead by two points. But with 10.2 seconds remaining, Glasgow missed a second free throw that would have given Good Counsel a four-point lead.

The Eagles pushed the ball down court and Malcolm Lemmons who found Thomas behind the arch in the corner. Thomas got his feet under him and shot in rhythm.

“When he let it go, I knew it was going in,” Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner said.

Thomas’ three-pointer sent Good Counsel’s Kane Center into bedlam. Eagles players were jumping up and down as they did when they won last year’s WCAC championship. After falling to O’Connell in the team’s WCAC opener, Gonzaga saw this as a must-win game.

Hummer once again took the load on his shoulders in overtime, scoring the first basket and then commanding the glass. He also had a beautiful pass to Patrick Wolf, who also sunk a key overtime jumper, down low to give Gonzaga a 74-69 lead. Hummer would stretch that to 76-69 on a free throw and he sunk two more free throws after Good Counsel had cut the Eagles’ lead to four points.

For Good Counsel, the loss is a tough one to swallow, especially considering that the Falcons were coming off winning the Bullis Holiday Tournament and suffered their second WCAC loss of the season.

The Falcons led from the start of the second quarter all the way through midway through the fourth and had a nine-point lead at one point. They had a four-point lead with under two minutes remaining.

“That three-pointer was demoralizing,” said junior Ben Hazel, who led all scorers with 23 points. “We felt like we had it the whole game, felt like we had the game won. Then the three, it was kind of hard to regroup and get back together for overtime.”

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

(Dec. 23, 2008) – Former Gonzaga High School standout and Loudoun resident Patrick Cullen was named the East Coast Athletic Conference Rookie of the week earlier this month.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)