ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Mt. Hebron got what it has been waiting for all season when it defeated visiting City College in the 3A East regional playoffs Wednesday night, 55-49, avenging a season-ending loss to the Black Knights last winter.
"They came here to play. They're a tough team. Just getting revenge from last year when we went out there and got smacked by like 18, a lot of the girls kept that in their mind," said Mt. Hebron coach Tony Bell. "We were ready."
Viking seniors Meghan Doherty (12), Nia Crump (11) and Megan Konig (10) combined for 33 points in the win.
"To grab this win feels great. It sparks the team off for the postseason ... it's time to go," said Crump, who also led the Vikings on the boards. "To box out and get some really key boards against bigger girls was a really great accomplishment."
City was led by junior Nkeiruka Okororie with 16 points in the loss.
The Black Knights cut Mt. Hebron's lead to one at 46-45 after a score by junior Sabreen Muslim (11 points) with 5:35 remaining in the game.
But a basket and free throw by Vikings junior Peyton LeConte (9 points), followed by a layup by junior Gabrielle Green off a nice feed by Doherty, gave Mt. Hebron all the points it would need to hold on for the win.
Neither team scored in the final three minutes of the game, making for an anticlimactic finish, which was just fine with Bell.
"I just wanted to see the clock hit 0:00," he said.
Top-seeded Mt. Hebron will next host Baltimore Poly, which defeated Centennial Wednesday evening, in the 3A East Section I championship.
C: Okororie 16, Muslim 11, Madden 7, Snyder 7, Marshall 6, Clayton 2.
MH: Doherty 12, Crump 11, Konig 10, LeConte 9, Green 5, Devine 4, Alli 2, Williams 2.
Half: MH 28-22
Atholton 53, Reservoir 19
The Raiders got offensive contributions from 12 different players as they handled Reservoir. Atholton will now host Glenelg, at Howard, for the Section II championship.
A: Mitchell 10, Vanegas 8, Jones 6, Mayhew 6, Burmester 4, Morton 4, Harrison 3, Owens 3, Patterson 3, Hart 2, Hinson 2, Simons 2.
Re: C. Bartley 5, Gray 3, Powell 3, A. Bartley 2, Delong 2, Tiller 2, Wilson 2.
Half: A 28-9
Baltimore Poly 38, Centennial 26
Glenelg 61, River Hill 49
Glenelg freshman Jess Foster rose to the occasion in her first playoff appearance, scoring a game-high 28 points — including three three-pointers, and 17 of 22 free throw attempts — to help the Gladiators secure a Section II finals bid against top-seeded Atholton.
Chelsea Buchiane led the Hawks in the loss, nailing four three-pointers and scoring a team-high 16 points.
G: Foster 28, Wolfrey 13, Henggeler 7, Johnson 6, Hanlon 5, Butera 2.
RH: Buchiane 16, Hopkins 14, Poindexter 13, Clark 2, Hovet 2, Patterson 2.
Half: G 25-14