Winning convincingly against Archbishop Spalding has become commonplace for the Roland Park girls basketball team this season.
No. 2 Roland Park made it three in a row in a 70-44 rout over the visiting Cavaliers in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference semifinal Thursday night.
Eight Reds scored as sophomore guard/forward Jeydah Johnson (15 points) and senior forward Lindsay Edwards (13 points, 6 rebounds) had the best performances.
Now, the bad news.
Next up for Roland Park (21-4) is No. 1 McDonogh at Stevenson University Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Eagles are the defending league champs and a team that beat the Reds by nine points Feb. 2.
Roland Park is 0-for-3 in championship games since the IAAM formed in 1999.
The most painful loss came last year, when the Reds lost to McDonogh after leading the Eagles by nine points in the second half.
"We can't wait for the title game." Roland Park junior point guard Jaia Alexander said. "This is what we have been pushing for all year. We have this fight in us since this time last year. Our team phrase is, 'Hash tag, we are ready to eat.' We are hungry, passionate and determined. "
And focused.
After Spalding's Victoria Reynolds sank two free throws with 5:10 remaining in the first quarter, the Cavaliers stayed on the short end of the score for the rest of the game.
Roland Park closed the first quarter on a 16-2 run as Alexander and Francesca Whitehurst keyed it with three pointers.
The Reds opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run and finished it in the same fashion.
It seemed the only way to stop Roland Park was the halftime buzzer.
The Reds shot 62 percent from the field in the first half and 50 percent overall.
"Whether they were shooting two feet away or 25 feet away," Spalding coach Bookie Rosemond said. "It was swish, swish, swish. They were on fire. It's tough to climb back when you are down 16 points before you know it."
Spalding (15-12) had it problems shooting from the field, especially in the first half. The Cavaliers only hit 6 of 24 shots (25 percent). Overall, they committed 23 turnovers.
About the only thing the Cavaliers did well was shoot free throws (7-for-9) and outscore Roland Park, 20-14, in the third quarter.
The closest Spalding got was 43-26 midway through the third quarter.
Reynolds led her team with 15 points and eight rebounds while teammate Kalia Clark added 14 points and eight rebounds.
"We were never threatened," Roland Park coach Scott Buckley said. "I could just tell all day that we were going to be ready to play. Our defensive intensity was really good from the opening tip. And that fuels our offense. It was just great the way we came out."
No. 2 Roland Park 70 No. 12 Archbishop Spalding 44
RP—Johnson 15, Edwards 13, Holder 12, Alexander 11, Clay 8, Whitehurst, 5, Hauser, 4, Carpenter, 2. Totals: 29 8-19 70.
M—Reynolds 15, Clark 14, Bender 4, Stump 3, Baker 3, Callahan 3, Lybrook 2. Totals: 17 7-10 44. Half: RP, 39-14.