The South Carroll girls basketball team, winners of 21 straight games, hopes a rare 14-day layoff won't hurt it when it begins play in the Class 3A West Region playoffs next week.
Some people close to the team are worried the long break could hinder the fifth-ranked Cavaliers' chances of making it through the regionals.
"I'd probably prefer having a game to play this week," said South Carroll coach Al Skierski. "But our AD [Fred Baker] set up the schedule and we're playing it."
Baker said yesterday a number of factors led to the Cavaliers ending their regular season Feb. 16 and not playing again until Thursday.
"We were trying to schedule a game for Tuesday [Feb. 21] against Wilde Lake of Howard County but they couldn't play us that day, so we moved that game to another date [Dec. 16] on our schedule," said Baker.
"I didn't like the idea of not having a game this week but I figured we would most likely wind up having a makeup game this week due to bad weather. But that didn't happen because we've had a mild winter."
Where the Cavaliers will be seeded is still to be determined. Walt Whitman (17-1) and Paint Branch (17-2) join South Carroll (21-1) as the top three teams in the 3A West.
South Carroll needed Paint Branch to beat Whitman last night at Whitman to give the Cavaliers the No. 1 seed and the home-court advantage throughout the regionals.
If Whitman won, it would be the top seed and South Carroll would be second. In any event, South Carroll is assured of a bye in Tuesday's opening round and will play in the semifinals at home Thursday.
To keep his team sharp, Skierski and some of the parents of players have tried to arrange a full-scale scrimmage with a top-notch girls team to fill the void.
Second-ranked Hammond was sought as an opponent but the Bears could not participate in a scrimmage because they do not have a week off between their last regular-season game and the semifinals of the Class 2A South girls regionals.
If no high school girls opponent is found, the Cavaliers might scrimmage against a team of ex-South Carroll girls standouts that could include Melanee Wagener, who played for the University of Virginia in two NCAA women's championship games.
"I'd rather play a game before the regionals begin," said senior South Carroll point guard Amber Clutter. "But our last two practices have been the hardest we've had all year. Every drill was full court and designed to keep us in shape. Also, we're all focused and really into winning the regionals."
Sophomore South Carroll forward Ce Wagener said of the layoff: "I don't think it's going to affect us. We've been practicing hard and if we go out and play to our potential we'll win the region. We really want to beat Walt Whitman if we meet them somewhere in the playoffs."
rTC In contrast to the South Carroll problems, all has worked out perfectly for the 14th-ranked Westminster girls (17-4) in the state Class 4A West Regionals.
The Owls finish their season tonight against Thomas Johnson and then begin play in the opening round of the 4A West Region at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Westminster.
Westminster is the third seed and will meet either Quince Orchard or Watkins Mill on Tuesday night.
Quince Orchard would have advanced to the 4A West opening round with a victory over Wootton last night. If Quince Orchard lost, then Watkins Mill will be in Westminster on Tuesday night.
Westminster coach Bernie Koontz said: "I know a little about Quince Orchard and nothing about Watkins Mill. We beat Quince Orchard, 67-49 [Dec. 20 at Quince Orchard] in a game that resembled a track meet in the first quarter [22-21 Westminster lead]. But then we decided to play some defense and pulled away from them."
Leading Westminster scorer Beth Lister, who had 21 against Quince Orchard, said: "I really like the idea that we don't have a big break like South Carroll has. I want to get right into the playoffs. If we have our confidence and play smart we can do really well in the regionals."