When fifth-ranked St. Mary's meets No. 7 Old Mill tonight at 8 in the marquee matchup of Archbishop Spalding's Noel Classic, it will mark their third meeting in five years for the unofficial tournament championship.
For Patriots coach Pat Chance, however, it will be just another game.
"I think when you play a quality team like St. Mary's, it means
something," said Chance, "but I hate to put a value on any one game. I look forward to every game."
Both teams can run and are capable of using their strong inside-outside combinations to manhandle opposing defenses.
Yesterday, each tuned up for tonight's matchup with easy victories.
Old Mill (5-1) got 14 points from guard Mary Chicorelli and 11 each from guard Tinnell Slade and forward Kerri Eland in a 62-39 win over host Spalding.
Later, St. Mary's (7-4), survived an early challenge from Severn before running away for an 89-69 win. Forward Annetta Davis led the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds in 22 minutes, helping the Saints -- who trailed 23-22 after a quarter -- go on a 21-4, second-quarter run to take control.
The Patriots and Saints look to be by far the two best teams in the eight-team tournament field, as well as two of the best teams -- along with Severna Park and Arundel -- in Anne Arundel County.
If nothing else, tonight's game could be good for some area bragging rights.
"It will be an interesting game," said Chance, whose team lost last year's matchup, 69-51. "If we play well, we can play with them. If we don't, they can blow us off the court."
In the best game of the day, Broadneck edged Mercy, 54-52.
Though Mercy (5-4) led by two at halftime, Broadneck (4-3) used runs of 12-2 and 8-1 to take a 44-35 lead after three quarters.
The Bruins never trailed again.
"We talked at halftime about working harder on Shannon Cohen," said Broadneck coach Bruce Springer of the Mercy guard who scored 10 in the first half. "We put two people on her, and she started to get a little tired."
Cohen scored three points in the second half.
The Sharpshooters still had a chance to win, but Cohen missed the front ends of two one-and-one opportunities in the final 24 seconds.
Jill Smith and Sarah Brino led the Bruins with 12 points each, and Jessica Marshall added 10.
After a recent two-point loss to Severna Park and a four-point loss to Linganore, finally winning a close game was a welcome sight for Springer.
"We just needed to win a close game," he said. "We've lost a couple of close ones, and we needed this for our confidence."