New Town's sixth-ranked girls basketball team had one big problem with No. 11 Dulaney in yesterday's Baltimore County championship - the Lions' 6-foot-2 Danielle Parker.
The junior forward-guard, who transferred last summer from No. 1 St. Frances, had 27 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks to lead the host Lions (20-0) past the defending champion Titans, 57-47, for their first county title since 1992.
She scored 12 points early as the Lions ran up an 11-point lead. The Titans pulled within two twice in the second half on 8-0 and 5-0 runs. Each time, Parker snuffed the momentum.
"We sandwiched her, had somebody in front of her, somebody behind her [in the post], but those aren't the times where she hurt us the most," Titans coach Pam Wright said. "She hurt us in transition and things like that, not just in the half court, and then she made us leave other people open. It was still all about her."
Late in the game, point guard Tyra Breaux sparked the Titans (17-1) with a big offensive rebound, a steal and three points, cutting the lead to 44-42 with 2:52 to go.
Parker then grabbed the rebound off a missed free throw and took it down for a layup.
Three weeks ago, Parker made the same coast-to-coast play to beat Catonsville in overtime and clinch the berth in the final.
"It was a little bit like that," Parker said. "I was just thinking we've come a long way. When they got within two points of us, the first thought is, 'We can't let them tie the game.' I thought maybe I needed to take it downcourt and get my team pumped."
Lions point guard Katie Cole, who scored 11, agreed.
"That was big. As soon as she started dribbling, I knew she was going to go all the way. I'm glad she took it on herself to do that, because it got the fans going and it got everyone going."
After that, Parker and Cole hit nine of 10 free throws.
The Lions also got a key contribution from a player who did not score at all, Annie Trapp.
In the fourth quarter, coach Richard Welsh called on defensive gem Trapp to contain the Titans' best outside shooter, Peju Awodipe, who had scored eight in the third quarter. In the diamond-and-one defense, Trapp allowed her just one more shot.
katherine.dunn@baltsun.com