The Digital Harbor girls found two major problems in Saturday's game against Riverdale Baptist: They couldn't get to the basket, and the Crusaders were much bigger.
Those were the reasons No. 4 Digital Harbor spent too much time shooting from long distance. The Rams had trouble generating offense, but Riverdale Baptist didn't, and the Crusaders pulled away in the second half for a 66-47 victory in the 14th annual Basketball Academy at Morgan State.
Riverdale Baptist (15-5), ranked No. 4 in The Washington Post poll, easily beat No. 3 Western on Friday night, using a variety of zones and traps to shut down the lane. The Crusaders' height advantage helped them dominate close to the basket, and though the Rams got through at times, it didn't happen often.
"It was really hard for us to penetrate," Digital Harbor's Asia Logan said. "We have a little team, and sometimes the shots weren't falling."
Logan led Digital Harbor with 19 points while A'lexis Harrison scored 17 and Janay Brinkley added 10. They were three of the bigger Digital Harbor players, and the Rams got just one point from the rest of their lineup. Ataira Franklin led the Crusaders with 19 points.
Riverdale Baptist started the game in a 1-2-2 zone and trapped a lot on the wings along with putting plenty of pressure on the ball. Those moves clearly slowed the Rams.
"We tried to work our defense to keep them away," Riverdale Baptist coach Diane Richardson said. "We wanted to clog down the middle and force them to shoot jumpers."
Still, Digital Harbor did a good job in the first half of staying patient to find good jumpers. That patience helped the Rams play to a tie with the Crusaders at 22 with just more than three minutes to go in the half.
But Riverdale Baptist then took command with a 21-5 run to take a 43-27 lead in the third quarter. The Crusaders broke the game open by making their first five shots of the second half.
Digital Harbor never drew closer than 11 again and faded in the fourth quarter, committing seven turnovers.
"We just have to finish the game out," Brinkley said. "We've always got to keep [playing]."
D--
Logan 19, Watson 1, Brinkley 10, Harrison 17.
Totals:
19 9-14 47.
R--
Chase 14, Simms 2, Williams 13, Richmond 6, Franklin 19, Logan 4, Atkinson 6, Heslip 2.
Totals:
23 17-23 66.
Half:
R, 31-25.