James notches 600th win as North Harford girls basketball coach Monday

North Harford girls basketball coach Lin James won her 600th career game at the Pylesville school Monday night.

The Lady Hawks, who nearly gave their coach the historic win Friday night, left no doubt in Monday's win, bolting out to a 26-6 first quarter lead and rolling to a 61-32 win over neighboring private school, Harford Christian.

"I'm relieved to get this, so we can move onto playing basketball," James said after a brief ceremony in which she was presented a new banner to be hung in the gym, white roses from each player and a white T-shirt with green letters reading 600 Baby!!!

"I'm not a fan of all of this, but I appreciate everything," she said.

The Hawks, who put eight players in the scoring column, used pressure and a running style offense to put the game away.

North Harford (1-2) outscored the Eagles (3-1) 17-7 in the second quarter to take a commanding 43-13 into the half.

A 16-9 third quarter advantage led to a lead of 35 and more points, which invites a running clock in girls basketball this season. The Eagles outscored the Hawks 10-2 in the final quarter to close out the game.

Morgan Knox, the only senior for North Harford, led all scorers with 18 points. "It feels good, because I've had Mrs. James the last three years," Knox said. "She's a really, really good coach and I'm really pleased to have her as coach."

Annie Wernig added 15 points in the win, while Bailey Saneman had eight points.

Chloe Akers, daughter of Harford Christian head coach Brian Akers, led the Eagles with 13 points, including four three-point baskets.

"I'm happy to be here," coach Akers, who recently celebrated his 300th win, said. "It's an honor for her to let us play them this year. It was an enjoyable night to see her win 600. Sorry, I made it so easy for her," Akers said with a smile.

In looking back over the past 44 years at North Harford, James said, "Lot of good kids, that's the main thing. Sometimes the skill level is not great, but most of the time the kids are always good and that's what keeps it fun." James also noted that the Hawks appreciated Harford Christian playing them this year and said, "I can't thank Brian enough."

Bobcats get declawed Monday

Bel Air's (1-2) celebration for Friday night's first win was short-lived as the Bobcats were beaten soundly by visiting Perry Hall Monday night, 52-27. The Bobcats trailed at the half, 35-7.

Connor Hanley scored eight points to lead Bel Air and Jamie Bittner added six points.

Hawks fall to Hereford Friday

Career win 600 avoided coach James on Friday when the Hawks lost, 43-38, to visiting Hereford.

The Hawks trailed 8-0 out of the gate, but scored nine straight points for their only lead of the game.

Hereford led 25-18 at the half and 34-33 after three quarters after North Harford scored five unanswered points in the final minute. Haley Ray drained a three-pointer and Morgan Knox converted a steal at half court into a layup.

Hereford, however, scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to lead 43-33. North Harford's five fourth quarter points all came in the final minute of the game.