Catonsville girls basketball coach Mike Mohler knew if the Comets were going to have a chance to beat Paint Branch in Class 4A North Region title game, they would have to slow down the Panthers' running game.
That strategy worked fairly well for three quarters, but the Panthers exploded midway through the fourth and left with a 62-38 victory and the region championship Monday night at Catonsville High School.
The rematch of the 2014 regional championship game between the teams was different than last year when Paint Branch won, 73-37. In that game, the Panthers shot lights out and built a 39-16 halftime lead, while the Comets missed 22 of their first 23 field goal attempts.
This time, Catonsville (20-6) led 6-4 after the first period as the Panthers (23-1) struggled to get untracked.
"We just had to settle down," Paint Branch coach Rochelle Coleman said. "We missed a couple shots we normally would make and we kind of freaked out a little bit, but once we settled down and relied on our defense, that's what usually turns our offense around."
The Panthers rebounded to take a 22-14 halftime lead and built the cushion to 43-28, heading into the final quarter.
A possession at the end of the third period turned the tide for good as Catonsville had the ball trailing by 12 with 25 seconds left before turning it over with five seconds remaining.
Paint Branch senior Daisa Harris (game-high 30 points) then hit a buzzer-beating running three-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead back to 15.
"That was big," Coleman said. "Just knowing time and score situation and being composed to be able to take that shot and knock it down."
A basket by Kaylyn French made it 45-28 before the Comets mounted a charge.
Jasmine Dickey (team-high 19 points) started a 6-0 run with a pair of baskets, the second coming off a nice outlet pass by Renee Gast.
Tiarra Horne (6 points) added a putback and the deficit was 11, 45-34, with 5:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But Paint Branch answered with a 15-0 run that sealed the victory.
Harris, who averages 20.5 points a game and has a scholarship to play at Drexel University, scored six points during the run.
Although the Panthers pulled away at the end, Paint Branch coach Coleman was expecting a tough game.
"This is my third year playing them. I have film on them," she said. "They are a scrappy team. They work hard. That No. 10 [Renee Gast] is into everything and No. 20 [Dickey] is a freshman and she is going to be a problem for people. So I knew it was going to be a tough game. They play hard. They play hard for the coaches and they play for each other so that wasn't something I wasn't expecting.'
The Comets were without starting freshman Jemelia Barrett, who suffered a concussion late in the 61-44 win over Western in the regional semifinals.
"It hurts, us not having Jemelia. We lost a good defensive guard," Mohler said. "What can you say when kids give everything they can?"
That intensity sometimes led to shots early in the possession and turnovers.
"It's about too many unforced errors and poor shot selection, and that's going to lead to them making layups," Mohler said. "We didn't want to get involved in a running game with them."
The loss ended the four-year basketball careers of seniors Renee Gast, Maya Wichhart and Lauren McDonald, who all will play different sports on scholarships in college.
Gast will play soccer at Towson University; Wichhart will compete in heptathlon at the University of Colorado Boulder and McDonald will play lacrosse for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Scoring
Paint Branch 62
Daisa Harris 30, Tyra Sinclair 12, Sofilia Ngwafang 12, Autumn Ashe 4, Kaylyn French 2, Tatyana McClaney 2.
Catonsville 38
Jasmine Dickey 19, Tiarra Horne 6, Maja Wichhart 6, Andrea McTaggart 4, Destiny Bennett 2, Jen Gast 1.