In addition to sweeping the regular-season series from Notre Dame Prep on Friday night, No. 13 John Carroll snapped the defending Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference champions' 11-game winning streak and handed them a home loss for the first time since December of 2009.
Moreover, with their 44-35 victory on the Blazers' senior night, the Patriots maintained a 16-game unbeaten streak, thanks in large part to a lockdown defensive effort that frustrated last season's conference champions.
The win sewed up the top seed for John Carroll (18-3, 11-0 league) in the Red Division for the upcoming IAAM B Conference playoffs, and it prevented Notre Dame Prep (15-4, 10-2) from forcing a tie in the divisional race.
"This was our seventh game in 12 days," said John Carroll coach Mike Blizzard, whose team lost to NDP in last year's conference final. "The kids were tired. I told them, 'Pour it on for 32 minutes — you have all weekend to rest.'"
Blizzard said he employed a man-to-man defense in the first half and then, in a concession to the Blazers' 94-foot floor, went into a 2-3 zone that forced a slew of missed shots from the perimeter.
"They packed it in and put good defensive pressure on our shooters," Notre Dame Prep coach Katie Marks said. "And when we did have open shots, we were off."
Senior point guard Maria Edwards said much of her team's defensive focus was on her counterpart, Sydney Tommins, a junior playmaker whose deft ballhandling and passing skills normally make the Blazers go.
"We tried to force Sydney to her left a little bit," Edwards said. "We tried to make her do things that make her uncomfortable."
Deadlocked, 19-19, the Patriots took the lead for good early in the third quarter on a drive by senior forward Miranda Ripken, who also nailed a baseline jumper later in the period to keep their advantage intact.
She and her teammates were good enough in Blizzard's read-and-react offensive sets to eventually build a 12-point margin after sophomore guard Yemaya Johnson scored six points late in the fourth quarter.
NDP cut its deficit in half on a 3-pointer by senior Becky Felmeister with 52 seconds to go, but the Blazers could get no closer.
"We lost to them last year in the finals," Edwards said. "And we don't ever want to feel that again."
No. 13 John Carroll 44, Notre Dame Prep 35
JC – Watson 2, Edwards 7, Reese 3, Johnson 15, Hunter 4, Ripken 13. Totals: 16 11-16 44
ND – Bracken 1, Kasun 3, Hartman 5, Healy 10, Felmeister 5, Milching 1, Tommins 10. Totals: 12 8-11 35
Half: 19-19