A little snow-day rust showed early in Wednesday's girls basketball game between No. 1 Roland Park and No. 4 Aberdeen, but when the Reds shook it off in the second half, Aberdeen had no answer.
Roland Park led by just six points going into the final minute of the third quarter before Lindsey Edwards finished off the quarter with three baskets, helping spark the Reds to a 65-48 victory, their fourth win over a top-six team this winter.
With so many school closings and after-school activity cancellations in the past two weeks, the Reds (18-2) had practiced just twice since Jan. 19 and the Eagles (13-2) had practiced only once since Thursday.
Roland Park coach Scott Buckley didn't blame the slow start on so little practice but on a lack of intensity in the first half. The Reds emerged from halftime to boost a four-point lead to 12 by rebounding and running on the host Eagles, whose zone defenses gave them trouble in the first half.
Roland Park outrebounded Aberdeen, 17-11, in the third quarter and although the Eagles cut the lead to six, Edwards finished off the quarter with layups assisted by Jaia Alexander and Ryan Holder and a short jump shot to give the Reds a 45-33 lead.
"In the first half we got in early foul trouble and I think it got us out of our flow," Edwards said, "and I think we weren't as intense on defense as we needed to be."
The momentum carried over into the fourth quarter. After Aberdeen guard Kierra Palmer cut the lead to 10, Roland Park scored seven straight. Michala Clay's follow shot with 5:34 left boosted the lead to 52-35 and capped a 16-2 run. The Reds ran their lead as high as 65-42 with a minute to go.
Alexander, a junior guard, scored 23 points and had eight rebounds and Edwards, a senior All-Metro forward-guard, had 19 points and eight rebounds.
The 6-foot-1 Clay, who had to battle Aberdeen's 6-2 Stephanie Jones and 6-3 Endia Jones, had nine points and seven rebounds and stayed in the game with four fouls.
Early on, the Eagles were able to keep pace with the Reds, who have won 11 straight and are ranked No. 33 in the "Next 25" of USA Today's Super 25, with their defense. Roland Park opened the game with a six-point run, but the Eagles rallied to take the lead three times.
Aberdeen's last lead came on Stephanie Jones' follow shot with 3:30 left in the second quarter. The Reds answered that 24-23 Eagles edge with five straight points to finish the half as Aberdeen missed its last six shots.
"Historically if you look, snow days and Aberdeen do not get along," said Eagles coach Amber Milnes. "I think defensively we worked but I think it caught up to us in the second half.
"We just lost track of personnel," she said. "With Roland Park, you've always got to know where their players are. ... Everyone on their team knows how to get the ball and knows how to get to the hoop and score and I feel in the second half, we weren't keeping track of personnel."
Stephanie Jones led the Eagles with 24 points and had 10 rebounds while Endia Jones had eight points and 20 rebounds.
This was the second straight win for the Reds over Aberdeen, whom they defeated 61-34 last season. Roland Park has not lost to a local team this season, while the Eagles only previous loss was to No. 7 Patterson Mill.
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RP—Alexander 23, Edwards 19, Johnson 6, Holder 3, Clay 9, Hauser 2, Whitehurst 3. Totals 24 14-18 65.
A—Palmer 13, Norton 4, S.Jones 21, E.Jones 8, Cole 2. Totals 18 11-21 48. Half: RP, 28-24.