An aggressive offensive attack carried Aberdeen past host Patterson Mill, 61-49, Monday night in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference girls basketball game that left both teams with 11-1 records in the Chesapeake Division.
"We just told them, we needed to be smart, because we were coming off some snow days, and layups are the easiest baskets to make," Aberdeen coach Amber Milnes said. "They came out, and we've got three seniors on the floor and all five of these girls have played in these games, and they wanted it, they wanted to win and they played like that."
The No. 5 Eagles (16-2 overall) led before the game even tipped off on a free throw by Kierra Palmer, which resulted from a pregame technical foul against the No. 9 Huskies bench. The 1-0 lead didn't last long, but the one free throw was the difference through one full quarter as Aberdeen led, 17-16.
A slower second quarter also was won by the Eagles, giving them a 26-22 lead at the half. Aberdeen used a five-point run from Stephanie Jones to lead, 26-18, but Patterson Mill (15-5) scored four unanswered points in the final 2:00 to trim the lead.
The second half belonged to the Eagles and, more specifically, junior center Endia Jones (18 points), who scored on a putback to open the third quarter. And then, with 3:01 left in the quarter, she went to the line on Qalea Ismail's fourth foul.
Jones (10 points in third quarter) made both free throws and the next time down the floor, added a three-point play. The five points broke a 35-all tie.
"I had to find a body, and I had to block out better, and I was getting easier looks because Kierra was driving," Jones said. "We had to play our game, play smart and execute better than we did last game."
Aberdeen dropped the first meeting on its own floor, 58-54, in mid-December.
The Eagles ended the quarter with a bang and a 10-point lead, 47-37, when Najze Norton (20 points) banked in a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The lead quickly jumped to 14 points, 51-37, to begin the fourth quarter on back-to-back baskets from Stephanie Jones and Endia Jones. With 5:22 left, Aberdeen led, 55-40, and with 4:15 to play, the Eagles led, 57-42. Both stoppages were Patterson Mill timeouts.
The Huskies put together a seven-point run after the second timeout to close within eight, 57-49, but Aberdeen worked the clock and added the game's final four points to close out the win.
Stephanie Jones scored 13 points for the Eagles. Ismail, despite fouling out late, led the Huskies with 15. Patterson Mill's Chyna Latimer added 14 points and Sam Herman, back from a shoulder injury, scored 13 points.
"They did a great job penetrating the zone, and I don't know how many points Endia had, but she was fantastic tonight," Huskies coach Holly Ismail said. "They have a size advantage and strength advantage as well over us down there."
Boys basketball
Woodlawn 69, Catonsville 63: T. J. Owens scored 18 points to lead visting Woodlawn past Catonsville. Nate Chambers and Eric Sheppard led the Comets (12-8, 8-2 league) with 14 points each.
The win clinched the Division II title for Woodlawn (15-6, 11-0 league), and the Warriors will play No. 10 Hereford in the Baltimore County championship game Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Woodlawn made 16 of 22 free throws in the fourth quarter after Catonsville had cut a 45-38 deficit to one point early in the fourth quarter.
— Craig Clary, Baltimore Sun Media Group