ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Midway through the third quarter Thursday night, Mt. Hebron and Glenelg were tied, 25-25. But then Vikings senior Megan Konig took control of the game.
In a four-minute flurry to close out the third quarter, Konig scored five points with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals to put Mt. Hebron ahead for good.
Boosted by Konig's surge, Mt. Hebron (15-2) took a 36-27 lead into the fourth quarter, eventually cruising to a 44-32 win.
"I felt like in the first half we were kind of laying low, and I wanted to get the team pumped up and I wanted to step up for the team," said Konig, who finished with a game-high 14 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals and 6 assists. "I was a little off in the first half, but in the second half I picked it up, started driving more so they guarded me and I could kick it out or shoot a three."
Meghan Doherty added 10 points for the Vikings, while Peyton LeConte and Olivia Williams added six points each.
"We're just focusing on us getting stronger as a team, working together better," said Konig, who hit three three-pointers in the win.
Glenelg freshman Jess Foster nailed four three-pointers in the first half, but was held scoreless in the second half.
"I think we got tired in the third quarter, and it took our best effort to play with a team like that," Glenelg coach Chris Beil said. "The girls played very tough tonight and I challenged them to play physical. I think we did very well on the boards."
Glenelg briefly led, 12-11, after a Foster three-pointer late in the first quarter, and went ahead again, 17-16, three minutes before half time.
"Glenelg came out with a lot of energy," Mt. Hebron coach Tony Bell said. "Foster is talented. Our game plan was to try to eliminate some things from her and then she had 12 points at half time, so we went in and made some adjustments ... we made a collective effort."
Bell boasts a deep bench with numerous capable scorers, but praised Konig's effort in the win.
"Megan is my most diverse player, she can do everything. She can play four positions, almost five. She's 5'10", handles the ball like a point guard, she can laser a full-court pass on a dime. She just took over. That's senior leadership right there. I can always count on one of them to step up."
After defeating Glenelg, Mt. Hebron will now be rooting for the Gladiators (10-7) to defeat Atholton (15-1) next Friday in the regular season finale. If Glenelg could pull off the upset, Mt. Hebron could still capture a share of the county title.
"I wished (coach Chris Beil) good luck next week, which I don't do very often," Bell said. "We're just going to let the cards fall where they will. Right now, we're still trying to battle for the No. 1 seed in the region. A county title would be nice, but there's still a bigger prize that we've been working for.
"Like I told my girls, the season is the preseason. The real season doesn't start until two weeks from now."
MH (15-2): Konig 14, Doherty 10, LeConte 6, Williams 6, Alli 2, Devine 2, Green 2, Purnell 2.
G (10-7): Foster 12, Wolfrey 6, Henggeler 4, Johnson 4, Mattis 3, Butera 2, Hanlon 1.
Half: MH 22-19