Intent on not losing their whole season, seniors on the Westminster girls basketball team are doing their best to finish what they started.
The Owls won seven of their first nine games this season and appeared to be the front-runners for a Carroll County title before losing point guard Cassie Cooke, the county's leading scorer, for undisclosed reasons. Shaken, the team lost four of five games, suffering through a pair of blowouts .
Now, led by senior guards Emily Borisevic, Megan Elfert and Alex Held, and forward Nikki Kuhn, the Owls are attempting to get it together in time for the playoffs.
"We've got a lot to fight for," Elfert said. "With the four of us left now, someone each game will have to step it up."
And each has.
Elfert has made a habit of scoring in double figures, contributing a game-high 14 points in last week's 54-28 win over North Carroll, as well as scrapping for loose balls.
Kuhn, who scored 11 points in that game, has provided the team with a solid inside threat, as well as leadership. Borisevic, who started slowly after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in May, has come on strong in recent weeks, And Held, who leads the team's pressure defense, embodied the Owls' renewed spirit with a heroic performance on Jan. 19 against Century. Despite being sick for two days before the game, she took the court and helped keep her team close, finishing with 13 points before her legs gave out with 30 seconds left.
"Our four seniors stepped up big time when we needed that, because we were missing a lot of points," said coach Jerry Georgiana, who talked individually with his seniors after losing Cooke. "We said, 'Look, you're going to have to start looking for your shot.' A lot of them are unselfish, and they were passing the ball when they were wide open."
With a four-guard offense, Georgiana said that he's also stressed the importance of taking the ball down court as quickly as possible and looking for easy transition baskets.
"Each one has given me something to build this team on," Georgiana said. "Our chemistry was broken, and we had to build new chemistry. Now, we're a totally different team."
Dorsey honored again
For the second time, Winters Mill guard Jimmy Dorsey has been honored as the Monocacy Valley Athletic League's Piedmont Conference Player of the Week.
Dorsey, the reigning Carroll County Player of the Year, averaged 16.5 points in his team's two games, scoring 18 points and dishing out 10 assists in his team's 67-45 win over Tuscarora.
To submit news and story ideas about Carroll County high school athletics, contact Rich Scherr at CarrollSports@comcast.net.