The second basketball season began Friday night. The one where it's time to show what has been learned during the past three months, because now it's lose and pack up the uniforms until next year.
Class 3A East
Mt. Hebron put together an 18-1 run in the second quarter of its game at Stephen Decatur Friday afternoon. Although the Seahawks got back in the game in the second half, Mt. Hebron was still able to win, 61-47.
"Our 3-pointers were on tonight," said Mt. Hebron coach Tony Bell. His team hit seven treys in the game.
Mt. Hebron will play at Annapolis, the fourth seed, on Monday.
Mt. Hebron 61, Stephen Decatur 47
MH - Doherty 12, Jones 11, Wallpher 9, Summers 8, Konig 7, Crump 6, Tavai 6, Rochester 2. FT: 6-16.
SD - Schorr 22, Guraeli 16, Wise 6, Tetito 4, Parker 1. FT: 7-16.
Halftime: Mt. Hebron, 32-14.
Centennial 50, Northeast 34
Rachel Benzing (19 points) and Sara Downing (12) led Centennial past Northeast. The Eagles face Reservoir Monday in a regional quarterfinal game.
C - Benzing 19, Downing 12, Mitchell 6, Pino 5, Hsieh 4, Rockefeller 4. FT: 12-15.
N - Walter 8, Robinson 8, Woolford 8, Allen 2, Heffner 2, Bostic 1, Norwood 1. FT: 10-16.
Halftime: Centennial, 14-10.
Atholton 49, Hammond 11
Atholton had the luxury of playing everyone in its victory over Hammond.
"Our underclassmen got some good quality minutes," said Atholton coach Julia Reynold.
"It was a chance to let everyone practice the plays" before Monday's game against Howard, said senior Jackie Palmer.
Ten different Raiders scored.
Atholton's first-half press and its overall defense forced Hammond into a discouraging number of turnovers. The Golden Bears had just four points at the half, and didn't reach double digits until Keyuana Griffin hit a basket just before the third quarter ended.
"We're really starting to come together and play as a team, and what works well for us is a team. We don't have a superstar," Reynold said.
Atholton will take a four-game win streak into its game against Howard. The Raiders, however, might not have Bri Tinkle. She injured her wrist trying to take a charge and left the game to get an x-ray.
A - Pattillo 12, Palmer 9, Mitchell 6, Mayhew 5, Tinkle 4, Vitagliano 4, Keating 4, Hart 2, Weinberg 2, Caldwell 1. FT: 8-14.
Ha - Griffin 7, Conley 2, Lee 2. FT: 0-2.
Halftime: Atholton, 32-4.
J.M. Bennett 53, Wilde Lake 48
After enduring 22 consecutive losses this season, Wilde Lake nearly pulled out a victory for their enthusiastic fans. Because Wilde Lake was hosting the regional wrestling tournament, the Wildecats' game against J.M. Bennett was played at Atholton.
The Wildecats trailed, 31-15, at the half, but brought a new and improved game to the court after the intermission.
Wilde Lake held a brief lead in the fourth quarter and then twice tied the score after that. Lindsey Williams made it 48-all with 55 seconds to go, but she fouled out of the game 12 seconds later and her team never scored again. Traveling calls on two trips up the floor after that negated scoring opportunities.
Besides the turnovers, fouls also several Wilde Lake starters on the bench.
"We are such a young team," coach Caitlin Williams said. "But we have improved so much this season."
Casey Dowling is the only senior on the Wilde Lake squad
Bennett's Tyese Dennis sprained her ankle in the game but was able to shuttle in for offense and out for defense in the fourth quarter. She was remarkably consistent from the free throw line, hitting 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. She finished with a game-high 22 points.
Bennett will play at top-seeded River Hill Monday at 7 p.m.
B - T. Dennis 22, Vogelsang 12, Ross 6, Dennis 6, Todd 5, Price 4. FT: 14-25.
WL - Corbett 13, Williams 12, O'Rourke 6, Harrison 5, Riley 4, M. Sciabarra 2, Richardson 2, Dowling 2. FT: 4-17.
Halftime: Bennett, 31-15.
Class 2A South
Molly Fleming scored a season-high 19 points as Marriotts Ridge edged Southern-AA, 51-49.
"Molly had a phenomenal game, making steals and hitting three 3s," said coach Kristen Reier.
Amanda Miller added 12 points to the Mustangs' cause and played tremendous defense, stripping the ball from Southern's 6-foot-1 post player, Jordyn Brown, who scored a game-high 25 points.
Brown might have scored more had not Jenna Kerr, who came in when Jenna Bergquist fouled out, stepped up her defense.
"We were double and tripling (Brown)," Reier said.
Zoe Stukenberg "came out of nowhere" to steal passes, Reier added.
Marriotts Ridge plays at top-seeded Glenelg on Monday.
Marriotts Ridge 51, Southern-AA 49
MR - Fleming 19, Miller 12, Stukenberg 9, Grote 6, Bergquist 4, Taylor 1. FT: 8-14.
S - Brown 25, Hawkins 12, McKenzie 4, Makell 3, Stahl 3, Segreti 2. FT: 10-19.
Halftime: Southern, 31-24.
Oakland Mills hit seven 3s in defeating Long Reach, 55-32. The Scorpions will host the winner of Largo-McDonough on Monday.
OM - Hill 20, Twardowicz 14, Jones 11, Hight 4, Peters 3, Tullis 3. FT: 14-18.
LR - Briscoe 13, Engelbrecht 9, Callan 6, Ratliffe 6, Gray 2, Sanders 1. FT: 8-10.
Halftime: Oakland Mills, 32-21.