As Glenelg Country School coach Ed Conroy watched his team warm up before Wednesday night’s game against visiting Friends, he talked about how the Dragons were missing five players because of injuries. The situation didn't look good for the Dragons, who were searching for only their second victory of the season.
But Glenelg, dressing only seven players, led from start to finish and posted a 30-22 victory over Friends in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland C Conference game.
Guard Kathleen DeLeonibus led the Dragons with a game-high 11 points and teammate Ime Etokebe added six points and eight rebounds.
Paige Shephard led Friends with 10 points.
“The girls have been working really, really hard,” said Conroy, whose team started three sophomores in Etokebe, Jasmine Garcia and DeLeonibus. “They deserve this win. They have been putting in so much time, so much effort to get better. This one feels good because we have had a lot of disappointment with losses and injuries.”
Friends coach Ken Zalis has also been in Conroy’s situation. His Quakers have lost six of their last seven games entering Wednesday and four starters have missed time with injuries this season.
Starting senior point guard Bianca Washington couldn’t play against Glenelg Country because of a hamstring injury.
And senior center Morgan Ball injured her ankle midway through the third quarter and didn’t return.
“She (Ball) went out as we making our first run in the game,” said Zalis, a first-year coach. “When two out of our three seniors are out of the lineup, we get young and very inexperienced very quick.”
Both teams struggled with its shooting in the first quarter. Friends hit only one of 15 shots.
Glenelg Country also had trouble holding onto the ball, committing seven turnovers.
Still, the Dragons led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Glenelg Country had four more turnovers in its first seven possessions of the second quarter. They closed the period, however, with a 4-0 run in the last two minutes to go ahead 10-2 — the halftime score.
Forty second into the third quarter, the Dragons boosted their advantage to 13-2 on DeLeonibus’ three-pointer.
Friends went on an 8-0 run over the next 3:05 to trim the lead to 13-10. Ball got injured about halfway through it.
Glenelg Country led 18-14 at the end of the third quarter.
The Dragons made it 21-14 a minute into the final quarter on Garcia’s 15-foot jumper.
Shephard then hit back-to-back three pointers to cut the deficit to 21-20 with 6:16 remaining.
Not much else went right for the Quakers as they went 1-for-11 from the field the rest of the way.
Glenelg Country took advantage, closing with a 9-2 run to take control.
The Dragons held Friends leading scorer, Rachel Kehoe, to eight points.
She averages 16 points per game.
"The girls, especially Jasmine, did a great job of containing Rachel," Conroy said. "Rachel is a phenomenal athlete and player."
Glenelg Country 30 Friends 22
GC: DeLeonibus 11, Hursey 8, Etokebe 6, Garcia 3, Lawrence 2.
F: Shephard 10, Kehoe 8, Ball 2, Moore 2.
Half: 10-2 GC.