Catonsville girls basketball rallies after early deficit for 54-31 triumph on senior night

Senior night was the perfect night for Catonsville’s Lexi Johnson to shine in the spotlight, and that’s exactly what she did, leading the host Comets to a 54-31 victory over Overlea on Friday night.

Johnson finished with a game-high 18 points and added 11 rebounds as the Comets (10-5) notched their sixth win in the last seven games.

“That’s the best game she’s had in two years,” Catonsville coach Mike Mohler said. “She was a beast and when Lexi hit that 3-point shot, we said we ought to have senior night every night because that is really not her game, but she was an absolute beast tonight.”

The seniors, including Johnson, Asaani Offer, Leah Vacin, Ny’Asia Thomas, Jordan Edwards, Jaelyn Howard and Eden McPherson, all wore warmup shirts with all their names on it and were honored in a pregame ceremony with family and friends.

“This is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had,” said Mohler, who presented each senior with a basketball and flowers before the game.

The Comets came out jittery and Overlea (4-9) raced to a 10-2 lead, with six points from Pashence Perry (team-high 16 points) and two each from Kayla Johnson (10 points) and Chim Awujo.

“We had a roll going,” Overlea coach Charles King said.

A putback by Edwards ended the roll with 1:29 left in the first quarter and ignited a 14-0 Catonsville run over the next 4:26. Johnson had five points in the first quarter and Edwards added four.

In the second quarter, nine points from Vacin and eight from junior Ellie Altmann helped the Comets take a 29-15 lead into halftime. Catonsville also turned up the defensive intensity, forcing 12 second-quarter turnovers. Overlea finished with 36 turnovers.

“You can’t win games with 36 turnovers,” King said.

Catonsville’s offense was a finely-tuned machine with extra passes creating open shots.

“This is probably one of our best games passing the ball and we did really good on defense and offense. It was a good game for everyone,” Johnson said.

“That ball was moving all over the place and when it does, you get really good looks and once the ball started going in, our defense was all hyped up which is great. I hope it continues,” Mohler said.

The third quarter belonged to Johnson, who scored all eight of her points on layups. She credited it to the sharp perimeter shooting.

“It opens up more options for me and I can get open and it’s more shot availability,” she said.

When shots weren’t falling, Edwards was there to change the momentum. She had three offensive rebounds and three steals in the third quarter when the Comets extended their lead to 43-22.

“[Edwards] is a phenomenal athlete,” Mohler said. “She is that workhorse underneath, all of a sudden you see these arms coming out of the pack. She has unbelievable leaping and grabbing ability, she goes above the crowd.”

Overlea’s second-half highlights came from juniors Perry and Johnson, but it wasn’t enough to extend its winning streak.

“We were rolling, so hats off to Catonsville, they’ve got a good squad,” King said. “They hit their shots and they hit their threes.”

Johnson admitted she had some senior-night nerves.

“A little bit, but I knew it was a home game and my family was here, so I had to show out for my family,” she said

Mohler praised his seniors after the victory.

“We’ve never had one headache, of course no coach thinks their kids work hard enough, but these kids work pretty daggone hard and they listen and they get along with each other and they mentor the younger kids,” he said. “Every night needs to be senior night, that was fantastic.”

Catonsville 54, Overlea 31

C-Lexi Johnson 18, Ellie Altmann 13, Leah Vacin 9, Jordan Edwards 7, Kristen Stout 3, Jaelyn Howard 2, Eden McPherson 2; O-Pashence Perry 16, Kayla Johnson 10, Chim Awujo 2, Jaylin Burston 3

Halftime 29-15 Catonsville