For Atholton coach Julia Reynold, senior Chelsea Mitchell and the rest of the Raiders girls basketball program, four years of hard work culminated in one memorable night.
Mitchell scored a game-high 21 points, including the 1,000th of her career late in the first half, and Atholton delivered an emphatic 64-38 victory over Oakland Mills on Monday to put the finishing touches on the first county championship for the team since 2007.
Reynold, who took over the varsity coaching duties four years ago, says it's been a long, but memorable journey.
"These seniors were freshmen as I started my varsity coaching career, so they've been with me the entire way," Reynold said. "It's been a lot of hard work, dedication and heart. They play hard, they love the game and they've earned everything they've gotten together."
Mitchell, who was huge early on as Atholton (18-1 county) built an 18-4 lead by the end of the first quarter against Oakland Mills (11-8), was emotional as well afterward when reflecting on the title and her own career milestone.
"It's definitely a roller coaster of emotions, because yeah I'm happy but it's also like a sad moment because (my high school career) is almost over, " Mitchell said. "But it's definitely a great accomplishment."
Atholton was coming off a game last Friday against Glenelg where the team trailed for a large portion of the night before prevailing in the final minutes. There was far less drama in the finale against the Scorpions.
After establishing that big first-quarter lead, the Raiders never led by fewer than nine points the rest of the way. Four players — Mitchell, Caitlyn Burmester, Fran Vanegas, and Sage Mayhew — ended up scoring eight or more points.
"Showing that composure is definitely something we've talked about and learning from those situations we've been in so that we can come out like tonight ready to play," Reynold said. "We have a lot of different people stepping up and playing together to help us stay on the right track."
To its credit, Oakland Mills, which was led by Theda Jackson (13 points) and Ny'Jayah Lockwood (11), never gave up. After trailing by 15 points, 32-17, at the half, the Scorpions went on a 10-4 run out of the break to get back within nine.
But, behind Vanegas and Mitchell, Atholton proceeded to answer the mini spurt with an 8-0 run of its own to effectively squash any comeback hopes.
Atholton ends the regular season one game of second-place Mt. Hebron, which wrapped up a 17-2 county campaign with a victory over Long Reach on Monday, Feb. 23. The Vikings and Raiders split their meetings this year, but Mt. Hebron also suffered a loss against Centennial that ultimately proved to be the difference in the standings.
While the county championship is something Mitchell says she and her Raider teammates will cherish, she also pointed out that the team isn't done.
Atholton will have the top seed in its section of the 3A East region bracket when the playoffs kick off on Feb. 27. Last year, the Raiders fell in the regional championship against Poly in double overtime, so there's a feeling of unfinished business.
"We've got to know that everyone's still in it," she said. "It was definitely difficult getting here, so we wont forget that. It's like motivation to get through the playoffs."
Atholton 64, Oakland Mills 38
A (18-1): Mitchell 21, Burmester 11, Vanegas 9, Mayhew 8, Hart 4, Owens 4, Quinn 3, Hinson 2, Jones 2.
OM (11-8): Jackson 13, Lockwood 11, Davis 6, Diggs 4, Jones-Carter 2, Pacheco 2.
Half: 32-17 A.