Annapolis coach Dave Griffith said the first couple of minutes would show if his team could play with No. 8 Old Mill last night.
He was right. The Panthers bolted to an 11-4 lead and made more than 50 percent of their shots in the first quarter.
Just one problem: They didn't win the game.
Creating turnovers with its press and seizing control of the offensive boards, Old Mill went on a 13-0 run in the first quarter to move ahead for good in a 56-41 victory.
The game remained close until the last 6:15 of the fourth quarter, when Annapolis (1-2) was outscored 10-2.
A steal and layup by the Panthers' Emily Nugent had reduced Old Mill's lead to 46-39, but their only other points came when freshman Kammi Cottrell (11 points, seven rebounds) converted a pass from Jamie Pleyo with 3:10 left.
In the meantime, Kerri Eland scored inside after one of Annapolis' 42 turnovers, Tinnell Slade (13 points, five steals) made two free throws, Dana Dawson (12 points, nine rebounds) put back a miss, Natalie Phelps made a layup and Mary Chicorelli (seven points, four steals) grabbed an offensive rebound and sank a fall-away jumper.
All of that wasn't enough to make Old Mill coach Pat Chance forget about the first half, when her team shot 12-for-35 from the field, committed 17 turnovers and led, 28-24.
"We didn't play well in the first half," she said. "We made too many turnovers and we weren't talking on defense. We started communicating better in the second half."
The Patriots (2-0) also started playing better, though they couldn't shake the younger Panthers. They took their first double-digit lead, 42-32, on a steal and layup by Chicorelli, but Artina Trader buried a long three-pointer at the buzzer -- the third time Annapolis had scored as time expired in a quarter.
"We played them pretty well. I'm tickled with my kids," said Griffith, who has five freshmen and two sophomores on his roster after winning the 4A East Region last year.
Junior forward Stephy Samaras scored 14 points for Annapolis before fouling out with 51 seconds left. Nine different Patriots scored.
Last year, the Patriots had their streak of consecutive 4A state championships halted at three when Annapolis beat them in the region semifinals. Three starters graduated for the Panthers, but Chance doesn't see a huge drop-off.
"Annapolis is a good team. Those girls spent a lot of time working in the off-season and they out-scrapped us in the first half," she said. "Maybe my kids underestimated them. I sure didn't."