Seton Keough first-year coach Jim Stromberg is starting to like what he sees.
With each passing game, the 10th-ranked Gators seem to be getting better.
In the Hoops Division championship game of the Holly and Hoops Tournament at Essex Community College last night, the Gators breezed to a 58-32 victory over No. 20 Loch Raven.
The Raiders (4-2) were coming off a 47-37 upset of Mount Hebron on Tuesday and figured to give Seton Keough (8-1) a similar test.
But the Gators' man-to-man defense overwhelmed Loch Raven, forcing the Raiders into 29 turnovers and a 13-for-57 shooting effort from the field.
"As a team we're really coming together defensively," said Stromberg, whose team's only loss was to No. 2 St. Frances last week. "Our team as a whole is starting to come together. It was a good effort against a good Baltimore County team."
Junior Meghann Donovan was the Gators' catalyst at both ends of the court.
Donovan, who sat out the entire fourth quarter, scored a game-high 19 points and had eight steals. She also did a nice job containing Loch Raven's 6-foot-1 center Kelley Powell (11 points).
Junior Melanie Morris added 17 points for the Gators and sophomore Charity Carbine scored 13.
Loch Raven began the game by making its first two shots to take a 4-2 lead, but points would get much harder to come by for the Raiders.
Powell's basket with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter pulled Loch Raven to 11-10, but the Raiders would not score again until Powell scored with one second left in the second quarter.
Over than span of 9:30, the Raiders missed 14 consecutive shots from the field, two free throws and committed 11 turnovers.
By halftime, the Gators were ahead, 27-13, and they put the game out of reach with a 12-2 run to open the third quarter.
In the Holly Division championship game, Kellye Townsend scored 22 points to lead No. 4 Hammond (5-2) to a 43-34 victory over No. 8 Severna Park (6-1).
The Falcons scored the game's first six points and held a 10-9 lead after one quarter. But Hammond took an 11-10 lead on Townsend's basket 30 seconds into the second quarter and led the rest of the way.
Trailing, 27-22, at halftime, Severna Park twice pulled within two points in the third quarter, but the Golden Bears went on a 13-2 run to take a 37-24 lead with 5:48 remaining in the game.
Tamkeka Harrison and Rene Hines added 10 and eight points, respectively, for Hammond, which was playing without All-Metro guard Tiki Nicholson, who was sitting out after being ejected from Tuesday's game against St. Frances.
In the Holly Division consolation game, St. Frances (8-2) edged Frederick's St. John's Prospect Hall (7-7), 57-54, in overtime.
St. Frances, which lost to No. 4 Hammond, 56-51, on Tuesday, was on the verge of another loss before a rally late in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers had trailed, 49-45, with :48 remaining in regulation. But Sherry Dawkins scored two baskets for St. Frances after Prospect Hall had missed the front end of successive one-and-ones.
Dawkins' second basket tied the score at 49 with 19 seconds left. Nicole Teasley (18 points) then missed a shot for the Vikings and Nillon Lambert grabbed the rebound for the Panthers as time expired.