The River Hill girls basketball team's bench yesterday was like a revolving door and No. 8 Long Reach didn't have a solid answer for any combination Hawks coach Teresa Waters put on the floor.
The depth that makes the second-ranked Hawks a favorite in Howard County overwhelmed the Lightning, as host River Hill posted a 69-53 victory.
Senior forward Megan Buescher led five Hawks in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore center Brittany Gordon added 10 points and eight rebounds and junior guard Marche Westray scored 11 points.
Senior Laura Hostetler and junior Ashley Thomas, the Hawks' top perimeter players, finished with 11 and 10 points.
"I think everyone on our bench can play and everybody on our team is really important," said Buescher, whose team improved to 3-0 with all county victories. "Everybody who came in contributed something."
River Hill was sloppy in its half-court offense, but compensated with a full-court press that forced the Lightning (2-2, 1-2 in county) into 29 turnovers.
Leading the charge was 5-4 freshman guard LaKeisha Eaddy, who entered the game with the Hawks trailing by three in the first quarter, and immediately made an impact by using her quickness to get into passing lanes.
"One thing we have to do is play defense," Waters said, "and you could see that today even though our offense wasn't on."
The Hawks, thriving off the fast break, threatened to blow the game open several times, including an 8-0 run to close the first quarter that made it 17-12, but the Lightning stayed close largely because of 5-11 junior Whitney Ward.
Battling against a Hawks front line that featured three 6-footers, Ward scored 18 points.
Two straight Ward baskets and a Timisha Gomez three-pointer late in the third quarter cut the Hawks' lead to 46-36. Gomez, held in check most of the day by an attentive River Hill defense, knocked down a baseline jumper as time wound down to make it 48-40 at the end of the third.
"They took away my shot a little by pressuring me on defense with more than one person," said Gomez, who scored 12 points.