ELLICOTT CITY, MD — After their 49-39 win at Centennial on Tuesday night, Atholton girls basketball coach Julia Reynold is running out of ways to describe her team. The easiest way to sum up the team's identity, though, would be to simply point out that the Raiders have won 15 consecutive games, with the last 12 all coming on the road.
"Playing on the road, you really have to stay composed," Reynold said. "We have a lot of role players that do the little things that hold the team together."
With the win, Atholton (15-1) is now only two wins away from clinching at least a share of its first county title since 2007, when the Raiders also won the state championship.
Mt. Hebron (14-2) sits alone in second place, while Centennial (13-3) falls to third place.
"We know what we need to work on for the playoffs and the rest of the season, which is good," said Centennial coach Bobby Macheel, whose team was on a winning streak of its own. "I'm proud of my girls. We won 12 in a row with some very tough competition in there. We ran into a tested Atholton team who played a little better than us tonight."
The game featured a showdown between two of Howard County's top players, as Atholton's Chelsea Mitchell finished with 23 points, and Centennial's Anna Mitchell posted 20. They were the only two players in double digits.
Atholton, which is having its gymnasium renovated, closes out the regular season with games at Reservoir, Oakland Mills and Glenelg.
If one of those teams managed to pull off an upset, the Vikings could get back into the race by sweeping Glenelg, Centennial and Long Reach.
"We just have to stay focused and keep doing all the things we've been doing every game," said junior forward Caitlyn Burmester, who scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds in the second half. "We've just gotten used to not being in our home gym."
Atholton led, 21-19, at the half, and built its lead to 25-21 midway through the third quarter. The Eagles battled back to tie it at 27-27 on a bank shot three-pointer by Mitchell with 45 seconds remaining, and took the lead 20 seconds later when Mitchell stole a pass and found Jordan Burk streaking to the basket for the go-ahead layup.
Centennial expanded its lead to 31-27 with a pair of free throws by Mitchell 15 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Atholton responded with a 15-2 run to take control, and then went six-for-seven from the free throw line in the final minute to clinch the win.
A (15-1): Mitchell 23, Burmester 7, Caldwell 6, Jones 5, Mayhew 5, Owens 2, Quinn 1.
C (13-3): Mitchell 20, Eads 8, Burk 4, Driscoll 4, Simmons 3.
Half: A 21-19