Severna Park topples No. 9 Old Mill
Falcons continue hold on girls basketball rival; No. 1 Boys’ Latin upended
After Severna Park shook off its mid-game yips, the Falcons battled their way through No. 9 Old Mill to claim a 43-38 upset victory – and prevent the Patriots from avenging last winter’s pivotal playoff loss.
In last season’s Class 4A East Region Section I final, the Falcons edged Old Mill by three. The year before, the Falcons became the first county team since 2014 to defeat the Patriots, again in the postseason.
Tuesday’s defeat was a bit like rubbing salt in a wound that was getting old.
“We knew that they’d beaten us twice in the last two years in the playoffs on our home court,” Old Mill coach Rick Smith said. “So we came out a little wound up.”
Rachel Ward, whose back-to-back 3pointers put Severna Park in control in the fourth quarter, led the Falcons with12 points, seven rebounds and two steals. She was one of several Severna Park (14-6) players to join in on the scoring party of the first quarter.
“Ray’s struggled a bit, but she’s a good player,” Severna Park coach Kris Dean said. “Once she gets rolling, it snowballs for her.”
While Severna Park spun an 8-0 run to open things, Old Mill (14-4) appeared rattled. The Patriots were focusing too hard on trying to mimic the Falcons’ transitional style of scoring, Smith said, rather than playing their own game.
“That’s what I called the time out for,” Smith said. “We want to push the ball, but not at breakneck speed where you turn around and you’re out of control.”
Patriots guard Deja Atkinson (nine points) nailed the first home bucket of the night three minutes in, but most of Old Mill’s scoring came primarily from the foul line in the first. They trailed after eight, 12-6.
However, Old Mill had managed to dry up Severna Park’s scoring stream towards the end of the frame, and they were just getting started. Though the Patriots, too, wouldn’t break their own drought until three minutes into the quarter with a shot from the perimeter by Destiny Galloway, the Old Mill defense switched to man coverage.
IAAM: This week’s wintry weather has forced changes in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland’s basketball tournament.
The quarterfinals for the A, B and C Conferences were all scheduled for Tuesday with the semifinals Thursday and the championship games for Sunday. Now, the quarterfinals will be played today with the semifinals on Friday in all three conferences.
The championship games, meanwhile, are still scheduled for Sunday at Stevenson at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. (for the C, B and A Conferences, respectively).
So far, there were first-round games in the B and C Conference, which set up the quarterfinals. There were none of those in the A Conference as just eight teams are in it, and the first round is the quarterfinal.
—Jeff Seidel,
For The Baltimore Sun