Playing in its fourth game in three days, Roland Park Country School proved it has the stamina and drive to go the distance with anyone this season.

The Reds broke open a deadlock with an explosive final quarter in a 47-43 victory over Dunbar in the 25th annual BBOWS Holly & Hoops Tournament at Notre Dame Prep.

The Reds (7-4) overcame a slew of missed layups in the first 24 minutes and rode the scoring of Daisy Alaeze and passing of Beth Kelly to a 19-point final quarter to break a 28-28 tie.

Alaeze, who will play at Virginia Commonwealth University next season, scored eight of her team-high 22 points and grabbed four of her team-high nine rebounds in the final quarter.

"It's one thing to be a senior and want to make big plays, but it's a different thing to do it consistently like she does," Roland Park coach Scott Buckley said. "When we need a big play she comes through for us."

The Reds needed a lot of plays and most of them started with Kelly, who had all four of her assists in the final period.

Dunbar led 33-30 after a three-point play by the Poets' Shylia Buie (9 points) and putback by Sierra Johnson with 6:35 remaining.

But Kelly fed Christa Reese to begin a 9-0 run with six minutes left.

Reese's free throw tied it at 33-33 and Aleaze converted Kelly's pass for a 35-33 lead.

Freshman Michala Clay (4 points), who was scoreless in the first three periods because of early foul trouble, made it 37-33, off Kelly's assist, and another Kelly pass led to two Lindsey Edwards free throws to complete the run.

"I was definitely looking to push the ball, but the passes come and go," Kelly said.

Her toughest entry pass was corralled by Clay with a tough over the shoulder catch and she converted a back-breaking basket to extend the lead to 43-35.

"She caught that ball," Kelly said. "Man, that was a great finish. It definitely turned the game around."

"In the fourth quarter, she (Kelly) was able to beat a couple of their defenders off the dribble and get in the paint and she made real good decisions in the paint," Buckley said.

Dunbar senior standout Michelle Wright did her best to fuel a comeback, scoring eight of the Lady Poets final 10 points, but it wasn't enough.

Wright, who battled fourth-quarter foul trouble, finished with a game-high 24 points and 19 rebounds.

The Lady Poets (7-2) had a 37-20 rebounding bulge, but they were stymied by their perimeter shooting.

Wright was 10 of 21 from the floor and made Dunbar's only long range three pointer.

The rest of the squad was 0-for-8 from the three-point line.

"We stayed in man-to-man, but when they started bringing Michelle out high they were really looking for that 1-4 clear out, and we just sucked in," Buckley said. "If we got beat off the kick out jumper, so be it."

Dunbar coach Wardell Selby was just glad to see good competition in the tournament.

"We used the three games in this tournament as a stepping stone for our regular season," Selby said. "It gave me a chance to take a look at a lot of teams that do back door cuts and a lot of screens, so we are going to use this in preparation for our upcoming games."

Buckley will no doubt give his team some rest and enjoy the win over the defending Class 1A state champions.

"It's always big to beat somebody local and they are ranked in the top five," he said.

Scoring:

Roland Park (47): Alaeze 22, Reese 10, Edwards 6, Kelly 5, Clay 4.

Dunbar (43): Wright 24, Buie 9, Lawson 4, Johnson 4, Brockington 2.