Loch Raven coach Bo Brooks figured the first couple of minutes would show if his team could play with visiting St. Paul’s School for Girls Monday.
“We had a lot of early jitters,” Brooks said. “That’s county versus private school type of thing. The girls looked at the other end of the court and got terrified.”
Brooks was right. St. Paul’s bolted to a 16-4 lead in the first six minutes and rolled to a 58-37 victory in Towson.
Creating turnovers with its press, St. Paul’s (5-3) had eight layups and shot a sizzling 80 percent (16-for-20) from the field in the first half.
“We started off in a press, it worked well and we were able to get some quick turnovers and buckets,” said St. Paul’s coach Pat Conrad, whose team plays in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference. “When we get energized on defense, it turns into offense and that helps us out.”
Senior shooting guard Sharon Hall scored a game-high 17 points.
Teammate Sara Moeller, another senior shooting guard, finished with 11 points while forward Corinna Vlahoyiannis and guard Alex Wright each added 10.
Loch Raven guards Natalie Berkey and Madison Williams each scored 11 points.
The Raiders (4-3) fell behind 10-2 in the first 2:08 as they committed three turnovers in that stretch.
St. Paul’s speed helped the Gators convert those into easy baskets and their first 10 points all came on all layups.
“We can use our speed to apply pressure and get up and down the court,” Conrad said. “We don’t have much height. Our bread and butter is our guard play.”
St. Paul’s closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run to boost its lead to 22-6. Vlahoyiannis had four points during that span.
Things got worse for Loch Raven in the second quarter. St. Paul’s opened the period on an 8-0 run in the first five minutes.
The Gators led 32-12 at halftime.
“Being down 20 points is a lot to come back from against anybody,” said Brooks, whose team had nine turnovers in the first half. “That’s for sure. They had stellar guard play. Every one of their five starters could take you off the dribble. They are fundamentally sound and well-coached.”
Quinn Conrad (6 points) and Kacy McNeave (4) also scored for St. Paul’s.
LexI Tan (8), Ashley Hatz (3), Erin Muir (2) and Jayla Ragsdale (2) accounted for remainder of Loch Raven’s scoring.