Few spectators in the gym last night at Milford Mill Academy had a better position to evaluate the No. 10-ranked Millers than Dave Schreiner.
"I think they're a state championship team," said Schreiner, after watching Milford Mill dominate Woodlawn, 101-67, in a Class 3A North region semifinal.
"They've probably got the best guard in the country [in Mandy Clark], and they've also got another guard [in Quante Toney] who can handle the ball well and penetrate. Then they've got some big kids inside."
Schreiner probably would have enjoyed the spectacle more if he hadn't been coaching Woodlawn.
From the opening tap, Milford Mill dominated Woodlawn, building a 17-6 lead after the first 4: 30 and never looking back, using their full-court press to disrupt the Warriors' offense and time and again beating them down court on the break.
Playing with the flu, Clark scored a game-high 28 points -- including 13 in a span of 2: 47 to finish the third quarter. Toney had 22, and center Tiffany Johnson added 19 as the Millers shot 51 percent from the floor.
"We came out with a lot of intensity," said Clark. "Everybody just pulled through and did what they had to do. We didn't want to end our season."
The Millers (21-4) advanced to tomorrow's regional final, where they will play host to Fallston, a 60-58 winner over Aberdeen last night, at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
Coming off two straight dominating playoff performances, including Tuesday's 74-58 win over No. 17 Catonsville, Milford Mill coach Pam Wright said she likes her team's chances.
"We played two good games in a row. That's a good feeling," said Wright, who didn't feel the lopsided win would hurt her team. "Even though we blew them out, it wasn't like blowing out a bad team. This is a hype game, because it's Woodlawn. We played well. Sometimes when we play a bad team, we just go through the motions. Today we had to play."
Woodlawn (15-10) did have some bright spots, including the play of seniors Stacie Allen (18 points) and Stephanie McPherson (16), who helped their team rebound well on the offensive boards and outscore the Millers 11-2 during a 3-minute stretch early in the third quarter.
About the only suspense in this one, however, was whether Milford Mill would reach 100 points, which it did on Lataria Ackridge's layup with 11 seconds left.
"I would be disappointed if we didn't win a state championship, because we have the team to do it," said Clark. "There's no reason why we shouldn't."
Pub Date: 3/05/99