ELLICOTT CITY, MD — The last time that the Centennial girls basketball team went up against rival Howard, the Eagles lost a heartbreaking game after four quarters of regulation and three more overtime periods.
In the rematch, Thursday night at Centennial, the Eagles made sure that 32 minutes would be more than enough time to decide a winner.
Centennial (13-2) outscored the defending county champion Lions (11-4), 29-15, in the second half to cruise to a 57-37 victory.
"Last time it was a great game, but it just felt good to have the lid off of the basket," Eagles coach Bobby Macheel said. "In some previous games we've gotten good shots that we just haven't put down. Tonight, thankfully against a very good team, we really put some shots down."
The win sets up a key showdown between Centennial and Atholton (13-1) next Tuesday at Centennial. Other than the triple overtime loss to Howard, Centennial's only other league loss was to Atholton, 42-30. The Eagles have been on a 12-game win streak since those back-to-back losses in mid-December.
"It's a big game. The first time around, we really struggled. We scored 30 points," Macheel said. "I thought our defense played our usual game. To hold that team to 42 points was excellent, so it sets up a great rematch. They have some excellent players. They can score maybe better than any other team in the county. We have three practices to get ready for them. So hopefully the girls will be amped up."
Thursday night's game was tied, 22-22, late in the second quarter before Eagles leading scorer Anna Mitchell (game-high 18 points) stole a pass, pulled down a rebound and scored four points in the final 60 seconds before half time to give her team a 28-22 halftime lead.
The momentum carried into the second half, as Kimmy Eads scored nine points of her 15 points) in the third quarter — including a baseline jumper at the buzzer — to give the Eagles a commanding 43-26 lead.
Despite emptying its bench in the fourth quarter, Centennial maintained its 20-point lead at the final buzzer.
"In the second half we defended really well. That's a really good team that we just beat tonight," Macheel said. "I'm proud of my girls and they worked really hard for this."
Emileigh Scott scored 10 points to lead the Lions.
Ho (11-4): Scott 10, Batterton 9, Kinsey 7, Talley 6, Sagi 3, Gilmore 2.
C (13-2): Mitchell 18, Eads 15, Driscoll 9, Simmons 7, Burk 4, Chausse 3, Morgante 1.
Half: C 28-22