Oakland Mills' inside combination of 6-foot-1 Lauren McHargue and Kena Hodges, 6-0, proved too much for Edgewood last night.
With 22 points, McHargue outscored the entire Edgewood team in host Oakland Mills' 41-21 victory. The Scorpions' only senior also had 15 rebounds and three blocks.
While McHargue posted the big numbers, Hodges (four points, seven rebounds) joined her in frustrating the Rams (0-4) inside early on.
The Scorpions (2-2) ran up a 12-4 first-half lead as McHargue and Hodges combined for every point as well as 12 rebounds.
"Having Kena inside balances things out," said McHargue. "It doesn't always collapse on me like it did last year. It's starting to open up more on the outside, so the more confident the guards become the better it is for me."
The Scorpions' outside shots weren't falling yesterday, but that did not stop them from extending their lead. The Rams never got closer than nine.
"They were big and they passed well," said Edgewood coach Matt Rankin. "The ball was passed in the high post and when we came up to cover that, they just dumped it over top and down low. We got burned by that four or five times in the first quarter."
Edgewood's front line of 5-8 Rebecca Lesesne (two points, six rebounds) and 5-7 Danielle Whyte (two points, five rebounds) was no match for the Scorpions' height and smart ball movement.
To make matters worse for the Rams, both Lesesne and Whyte picked up three fouls in the first quarter and had to sit until halftime.
"Our man-to-man defense worked well against their height, but we had to drop out of it when we got in foul trouble. If we would have had a little more depth, we could have played them man-to-man and been more effective," said Rankin, whose team missed 6-1 sophomore center Carly Crawford, who is lost for the season with an ankle injury.
The Rams put together a couple small runs, the best late in the first half with all of Oakland Mills' starters on the bench. Edgewood rallied from a 15-point deficit to pull within 23-14 on Tasha Bond's driving layup to finish off the half.
With their starters back in the game, however, the Scorpions scored 10 straight to open the second half. McHargue had eight in the run and Terri Hayman added two points to go along with three assists.
Hayman, a 5-9 junior forward, scored only six points, but she joined McHargue to baffle the Rams inside in the second half.
"Terri's a smart player," said McHargue. "She knows when she's on and when she's off. When she's off like she was [yesterday], she knows how to draw them to her and dish off."
Scorpions coach Teresa Waters said good ball movement was one of the highlights of the game. "We're being a little more patient instead of just coming down and shooting it up," said Waters.