It's no surprise Division I powers like Tennessee and North Carolina are recruiting Milford Mill junior Mandy Clark.

At least not after last night's Class 3A, North Region quarterfinal at Catonsville.

The 5-foot-8 junior put on a shooting exhibition that left the near capacity crowd breathless, hitting 16 of 29 shots -- including eight three-pointers -- for 42 points to lead the No. 10-ranked Millers to an easier-than-expected 74-58 win over the 17th-ranked Comets.

With starting forward Chante Alexander still out of the lineup with a tender knee, Catonsville coach Mike Mohler knew the Millers would have to rely more on their perimeter game. He just didn't expect it to be so hard to stop.

"I told the kids, "You just witnessed a very good player having a great night," said Mohler. "She took the game over, and very good players do that. It was our fear, with Chante not playing, that, uh-oh, she's going to try to take the game over, and she did."

Milford Mill (20-4) advances to tomorrow's region semifinals, where it will play host to Woodlawn at 7 p.m.

After two previous close games against Catonsville (19-6), including a 59-58 win in last weekend's Baltimore County championship game, Clark said it was time to open things up.

"I am sick and tired of playing Catonsville, and I didn't want to lose to them," said Clark, who scored a career-high 46 earlier this season against Dundalk. "I was too hungry. We kept it too close the past two games. This time, I had to do what I had to do. I didn't want it close, so I had to play my game."

The Comets, however, kept things close early by playing their game. Using crisp passing and good shot selection, they led, 34-32, with under a minute left in the first half. But that's when the Millers took over.

Paced by Clark, as well as guards Quante Toney (11 points) and Kristen Smith (10), Milford got hot from the field, started forcing turnovers and scored 16 of the next 17 points to take command.

Time and again, Clark got the ball at Catonsville's end, took one step and scored over a packed-in zone.

"If they saw me shooting threes on man-to-man, what makes them think they're going to stop me on zone," said Clark. "You can't do that. I was taking everything they were giving me, bottom line."

Her coach, Pam Wright, gave her the green light, and Clark didn't disappoint.

"She's incredible -- simple as that," said Wright. "She's the best guard in the state of Maryland."

Pub Date: 3/03/99