MARRIOTTSVILLE, MD — After the Glenelg Country School girls basketball team defeated Friends on Wednesday night with only seven players, the Dragons got a little bit of relief on Friday evening.
Playing a Chapelgate team with a bench that went only one player deep, Glenelg Country (3-9) used its sudden depth advantage to cruise to a 36-28 win.
It was the second win in a row for the Dragons (3-9), who had struggled through a seven-game losing streak.
"We're thrilled about it," coach Ed Conroy said. "It's nice to finally have some victories. We have a really tough week this week (starting with Catholic on Jan. 20) so we'll see if we can continue it. It'll be a tall order."
Sophomore Kathleen DeLeonibus (8 points) hit a jump shot with two seconds left in the third quarter to put her team ahead, 25-19, then scored five more points in the last six minutes of the game — including a three-pointer — to put the game away.
Sophomore Jasmine Garcia (12 points) also came up big for the Dragons, scoring with less than 90 seconds remaining to put her team ahead by 10.
"In the last three games she's really coming into her own," Conroy said. "She takes it to the rim like she's going to dunk it. She's a foot shorter than that but she has the right mentality."
Senior Deja Hursey (8 points) led the Dragons on the boards.
"She's a really big presence for us inside. She does a great job sharing the ball," Conroy said.
Chapelgate (0-10) normally suits up eight players, but had one top player sidelined with the flu before another injured her knee in practice. The Yellowjackets, who are still in search of their first victory this winter, now set off on a five-game road trip starting at Oldfields on Jan. 20 before closing out the regular season at home on Feb. 4 against Friends.
"It's a little tough, but they've improved. We've got a lot of inexperience," coach Kevin Ryan said. "We're a young team that's just trying to learn how to put it together ... we've really learned to break the press, we've learned to pass better, basic fundamentals is what we've really been working on because we didn't have it at the beginning of the year."
The Yellowjackets were led in the loss by forward Dani D'Ascenzo (9 points), point guard Sydney Carnoch (7), and shooting guard Kristen Eisenreich (7).
"Sydney's our quarterback. Without her, the team doesn't run," Ryan said.
Although it's a stretch, Glenelg Country is eying a first-round bye once the playoffs start in early February.
"The great thing is that if you aren't in that play-in game you get an extra three days of practice, which for us would be huge," Conroy said. "That's what we're shooting for."
GCS: Garcia 12, DeLeonibus 8, Hursey 8, Etokebe 4, Lawrence 2, Newsome 2.
CCA: D'Ascenzo 9, Carnoch 7, Eisenreich 7, Rickett 3, Boyd 2.
Half: GCS 21-15