Even a late bus problem couldn't keep the Patterson Mill girls basketball team from winning its second consecutive Maryland Class 2A state championship Saturday at Towson University's SECU Arena.
The Huskies overcame a bit of a slow start on the court as well, but came on strong to beat the Oakdale Bears, 56-44, behind senior Qalea Ismail's 26-point, nine-rebound effort.
Coach Holly Ismail addressed the bus issue. "Needless to say, the bus was about 45 minutes late and the biggest thing for me was for me to keep my composure and what can you do?" she said. "The girls stayed loose and we were completely prepared with the two practices we had."
Prepared or not,Patterson Mill (21-5) came out cold, missing its first five shots and two free throws, allowingOakdale (25-2) to take advantage and lead 8-2 midway through the first quarter.
"Not a great start, but they settled down and were able to execute, handle the pressure. I'm super proud of them, they came to play, they came to win," Holly Ismail said.
A Patterson Mill timeout turned things around and as it turned out, for good. The Huskies, behind a pressure-pressing defense, ran off seven unanswered points to lead for the first time, 9-8. They never trailed again.
The press and the Huskies tight, man-to-man defense forced nine Oakdale turnovers in the first half.
The first quarter ended with the Huskies on a 13-1 run and a 15-9 lead. A little bothersome, however, was two fouls on Ismail and Chyna Latimer.
With Ismail sitting for three minutes to begin quarter two, the Huskies stretched their lead. A 5-1 run by the Huskies, started by Kate Eckart's put-back off an offensive rebound, quickly pushed the lead to double digits, 20-10.
Ismail returned and off an in-bounds pass, went right to the basket for two of her six points in the quarter. Latimer added four points in the quarter, all free throws, as Patterson Mill took a 28-16 lead into the half.
Oakdale scored the first four points in the second half, cutting the Huskies lead to eight. Ismail, however, took over and with her ability to drive to basket, scored eight of the Huskies 10, third quarter points.
"I think that in a big game, I've been here before, that really helped me," Qalea Ismail said. "I know that I've been preparing for this, even in the off-season, and I just felt really confident in myself, my teammates and I just came to win today."
Cameron Pitts, Oakdale's junior forward, also scored eight in the quarter for the Bears, who stayed close, trailing 38-30, through three quarters.
In the final quarter, Oakdale put together a last-effort surge, and on a pair of Moorman baskets had cut the Patterson Mill lead to five, 44-39.
Patterson Mill answered.
Two baskets by Latimer (18 points, seven rebounds), with assist from Ismail, put the Huskies up, 48-39.
"I just wanted to make sure I could go out there and do what I could do to help contribute," Latimer said.
The Huskies lead was 51-42 when Oakdale's Christi Labella converted a three-point play.
Teammate Natalie Galaviz added a jumper get the deficit back to seven, 51-44, but Patterson Mill scored the game's final five points from the free throw line, where they enjoyed a decided edge.
Patterson Mill shot 43 free throws, making 24. Oakdale attempted 19, making 11. Those numbers did not surprise coach Ismail.
Oakdale coach Rob Healy said, "Congratulations to Patterson Mill, they're a good team. They've got some pretty good players over there and a good job by their coaching staff. I think we did some things today that were uncharacteristic of Oakdale basketball."
Saturday's title gave Harford County its third back-to-back girls basketball state champions over the past seven seasons. Fallston won the 3A title in 2009 and the 2A crown in 2010. Aberdeen won the 3A title in 2012 and 2013.