Once again, defense made all the difference in a Western-Catonsville girls basketball game. This time, Western got the upper hand.
The No. 6 Doves' defense smothered the No. 5 Comets last night as Western came away with a 47-32 victory for the Class 3A North region championship - a victory that avenged a January loss to Catonsville in the Basketball Academy.
"Defense was the key to winning this game. Our offense wasn't going to click if we didn't play any defense," said Western All-Metro guard Akeema Richards, who finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.
That's what happened when the two teams met in the Basketball Academy. The Doves, who love to run, didn't play much defense and struggled to get their offense going. The Comets took advantage, coming away with a 61-51 victory.
Last night, everything switched. The Doves (23-3) easily handled the Comets' top two scorers, Jessica Nonn and Shamika Williams, stepping up on Nonn, a strong outside shooter, and sagging off Williams, who is strongest off the drive.
Except for a two-minute stretch in the second quarter when Nonn sank three straight three-pointers, Western's pesky defense kept Catonsville from developing any offensive rhythm. The Comets shot 20 percent from the field for the game and just 10 percent in the second half.
The Doves were too quick for the Comets at both ends of the floor and burned them several times when Catonsville didn't get back on defense.
The Comets (23-3) hung within 10 points until the fourth quarter, when Richards and Achiri Ade combined for an eight-point run to boost the Doves' lead to 44-26 with 3:16 remaining. Catonsville didn't make a field goal in the quarter until the 40-second mark.
"We never really got into our offense," Comets coach Mike Mohler said. "Defensively - if you'd told me we would hold them to 47 points, I'd have said we've got a real good chance to win. Obviously, we shot horribly, but Western was terrific."
The Doves advance to the state final four for the 12th time and will play No. 11 Atholton, last year's Class 2A champion, at 7 p.m. Thursday at UMBC's RAC Arena.
katherine.dunn@baltsun.com