Fallston girls basketball takes over top spot in UCBAC Chesapeake Division with 48-43 win over Patterson Mill

The Fallston Cougars girls basketball team overcame a slow start Tuesday to knock off host Patterson Mill, 48-43, in a battle for the top spot in the Chesapeake Division of the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference.

The Cougars improved to 6-0 in the division, while the Huskies fell to 4-1. Both teams are 8-3 overall.

The first quarter was a challenge for both teams, but the Patterson Mill got 3-point baskets from Kiley Wilhelm and Zoe Valan en route to a 13-7 lead through one quarter.

[ High school varsity sports roundup (Jan. 18) ]

Julia Skinner hit a 3-pointer for Fallston, but it was the only field goal made by the Cougars in the quarter.

Fallston’s offense started to click in the second quarter. Senior Jillian Crawford drained a pair of 3-point shots, while Emily Solomon scored seven points in the paint and free throw line.

It was all part of a 15-4 Cougars run as they surged ahead, 22-17.

“Actually, it all started with Amanda Sharpe. She took a charge in the second quarter and that kind of got us fired up,” Crawford said. “From there, we started hitting our rhythm.”

The Cougars held a 25-23 lead at the half.

“We started to knock down a couple shots and move the ball a lot better,” Cougars coach Johnny Woods said. “Looking inside, we try to tell these girls, we’ve got to go inside because we’ve got some girls working hard in there, and I think that really opened up the game for us.”

Patterson Mill battled and Wilhelm’s second 3-pointer pulled the Huskies even at 27 midway through the third quarter. The game was tied again, 31-31, a short time later.

Fallston, however, scored the final five points of the third quarter to lead 36-31. Skinner dropped in two more 3-point shots in the quarter to help build in the Cougars lead.

Allie Book’s 3-point basket pushed the Cougars lead to eight, 39-31, just 1:16 into the fourth quarter.

Skinner, who led the Cougars with 12 points, made another 3-pointer to bring the lead to double digits, 43-33.

Crawford finished with 11 points and team-leading 10 rebounds, while Book added eight points and eight rebounds. Solomon ended with nine points and nine rebounds.

Patterson Mill couldn’t get within five points the rest of the game.

“We left a lot of points from the foul line in the first half, so we had our opportunity to pull ahead somewhat,” Huskies coach Mike Getz said. “We didn’t shoot very well today. Holding a team to 48 points, we expect to win, so we’re happy with our defense. We have a lot of room for improvement and we look forward to playing them a second time.”

Patterson Mill went 5-for-13 at the stripe in the first half and finished 7-for-19. Fallston struggled too, at the line, going 9-for-20.

Madison Knight and Wilhelm scored 14 points each to share high-game honors, while Valan added seven points and Ava Wheeler scored six.