With four of its last five regular-season games against Top 10 teams, No. 5 Severna Park has little time to relax.
Last night, the Falcons did more than just respond to the pressure. They manhandled it.
Severna Park raced out to a 18-point lead after one quarter and never was threatened in a surprisingly easy 65-47 victory over No. 10 Old Mill, keeping the Falcons tied for first place in the Anne Arundel County 4A League.
Severna Park (17-1) and No. 8 Arundel are 10-0 in the league. Old Mill (14-4) fell to 9-2, its other loss coming against the Wildcats in overtime last month.
This was the first game of a difficult stretch for the Falcons, who travel to Arundel on Tuesday and Old Mill on Friday, then return home against Arundel on Feb. 24.
And this one was a keeper.
The Falcons' exceptional passing -- which accounted for 20 assists -- led to easy transition baskets and wide-open shots from the outside. And the biggest benefactor was junior Angela DeSalvo, who scored 24 points from a variety of drives and jumpers.
Jen Holmes, a 6-foot-2 junior center, added 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Lauryn McAlister had nine points, and Sandy Jenkin contributed eight points, five rebounds and four steals.
"We were really excited and pumped up after taking such a big lead. I don't think we could believe it at first," said DeSalvo, who also grabbed eight rebounds. "But at halftime, you have to keep telling yourself it's 0-0 and not take things for granted."
Severna Park made 10 of 19 shots in the first quarter, 17 of 31 in the half -- when it led 39-17 -- and 27 of 57 for the game. Many of those misses came in the last quarter, when coach Kevin McGrath substituted freely and his team's play became sloppy.
Even so, Old Mill didn't get the lead under 20 points until one minute remained.
The Patriots missed nine of their first 11 shots, and in an instant were down 18-2. They ended up 19 of 72 from the field.
"We just lost a little bit of composure at the very beginning," said coach Pat Chance. "I haven't seen Severna Park play all year, so I don't know if this was superb for them or if this is how they play every game. But they looked pretty good on both ends of the court. This looks like one of the better Severna Park teams I've seen in a long time as far as speed and good shooting and good ballhandlers."
Severna Park coach Kevin McGrath said many of his players were nervous beforehand, but he told them, "Once you start, everything will fall in place."
Most of their shots were falling early. DeSalvo and Old Mill's Kerri Eland traded baskets in the first minute, then Severna Park ran off the next 16 points.
Holmes scored six straight underneath, McAlister hit from the outside, DeSalvo buried a three-pointer, Holmes made one free throw, Alli Adams made a jumper and Holmes converted a pass from McAlister.
Old Mill didn't answer until Tinnell Slade made a free throw with 52 seconds left.
"We've been playing good defense, but I wasn't expecting to get off to a start like that," said McGrath, whose team came in allowing an average of 42.1 points. "The nice thing is, everybody made a contribution."
Eland led Old Mill with 11 points. Dana Dawson had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Slade scored eight points before limping off the court midway through the fourth quarter with a leg cramp.