FULTON, MD — Reservoir girls basketball coach Kyle Sullivan knew long before this season started that his team would look vastly different from the team that won 15 games last year to finish fourth in Howard County.
The Gators graduated Player of the Year Zelor Massaquoi, who led the league in scoring (21.1 ppg) and rebounding (11.5 rpg), along with three other productive starters.
"As I told them, anytime somebody leaves a void, there's opportunity for people to step up and fill it," said Sullivan, whose new look team defeated visiting Hammond, 60-45, on Monday night. "Instead of pounding the inside and drawing five sometimes and then kicking it out, we're able to just move the ball and get some gaps inside and they were making the right reads ... I was really happy."
Junior Mary Dudzinski made the most of her debut in the starting lineup, scoring a team-high 18 points, with four rebounds, six steals and five blocks.
"Considering this was our first game we all had high expectations. We wanted to come out and prove ourselves knowing that we lost a lot of people from last year," Dudzinski said. "Our athleticism has really helped us out ... we do a good job of moving the ball. All of us are very close, so I think that helps us on and off the court."
Hammond fell behind early, trailing 22-9 after the first quarter, but clawed its way back to cut the lead to just five at 27-22 with 30 seconds left in the first half.
Reservoir dominated after halftime, though, building a 21-point lead on junior Danaysha Turner's three-pointer with two seconds left in the third quarter. Turner finished with 11 points, six steals and six assists.
Hammond junior Shawnice King kept the Golden Bears competitive, scoring nine of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not nearly enough.
"We make a mistake and we put our head down as opposed to getting back on defense. One mistake can just completely take our team down. We've got to change that whole mentality, and that's what we're working on," coach Raymona Reid said. "Shawnice goes 100 percent all the time. She's one completely coachable young lady. It doesn't matter where I put her on the court, she goes as hard as she can."
Hammond center Lauryn Terry collected eight rebounds and Alexis Stratton-Bratcher hit two three-pointers on her way to eight points.
Gators sophomore Hayley Tiller chipped in 14 points, while freshman Cece Bartley tallied eight points and four steals in her varsity debut.
Ha (0-1): King 21; Stratton-Bratcher 8; Terry 5; Miller 4; Martin 3; Atatsi 2; Nole 2.
Re (1-0): Dudzinski 18; Tiller 14; Turner 11; C. Bartley 8; Wilson 5; A. Bartley 4.
Half: Re 29-22