Marriotts Ridge girls break through, 48-45

Mustangs trip Hammond; top-ranked Roland Park advances in IAAM playoffs

On the road Wednesday against the Hammond girls basketball team in a game with significant Class 2A South playoff seeding implications, Marriotts Ridge finally broke through in a tight game.

The Mustangs, who came in having lost all eight of their contests decided by seven points or fewer this winter, flipped the script and made big plays in crunch time against the Golden Bears on the way to a 48-45 victory.

“It feels amazing to finally be on the other end of one of these, and the girls really deserve it. They work so hard, and night in and night out, they come to battle, so to see them finish those big shots tonight was incredibly rewarding,” Marriotts Ridge coach Sarah Miller said. “Those plays that haven’t quite gone our way most of this season, tonight, they did.”

Marriotts Ridge (5-7, 7-11) outscored Hammond (4-8, 8-9) by eight in the fourth quarter, turning a five-point deficit into the three-point victory. Emma Morath (seasonhigh 18 points) and Emma Miller (10 points) each took turns leading the Mustangs’ offense throughout the game, but in crunch time, it was a complete team effort that helped secure the win.

A 3-pointer by Kendall Bryan with just under three minutes left gave Marriotts Ridge the lead for good, 44-43. Later, in a one-possession game in the final minute, Jenna Kohler delivered a put-back basket to help increase the advantage.

Over the final five minutes, the Mustangs held the Golden Bears to just two points — a pair of made foul shots from Taylor Liguori (15 points).

NO. 1 ROLAND PARK 64, ARCHBISHOP SPALDING 46: Mir McLean and Ja’Niah Henson each scored 22 points to lead the host Reds (25-1) past the Cavaliers (8-14) in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference quarterfinal.

NO. 11 MOUNT DE SALES 42, ST. TIMOTHY’S 33: Kristen Zaranski scored16 points to lead the host Sailors (22-3) past St. Tim’s (6-11) in an IAAM B Conference quarterfinal. Mount de Sales will host Glenelg Country in Friday’s semifinal.

Boys

NO. 6 EDMONDSON 87, SOUTHWESTERN 46: Markus Hocker scored 17 points to lead the host Red Storm (18-2) past the Sabers (0-8).

LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD 55, ST. VINCENT PALLOTTI 38: Tryllian Young had 11 points and Cam Smith had 10 points to lead the host Dons (18-11, 11-6 MIAA A Conference Red Division) past the Panthers (13-12, 7-6).

PARKVILLE 59, FRANKLIN 57, OT: John Godinez went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in overtime to lead the visiting Knights (15-5) over the Indians (14-5).

With the game tied at 56, a technical foul was called against Franklin, and Parkville took a three-point lead with 28 seconds to go in overtime. Godinez finished with a game-high 25 points, and Reggie Truitt had 19 points for Franklin.

GERSTELL 83, CHAPELGATE 49: Anthony Carpenter scored 18 points and Malachi Darden had 17 points as the host Falcons (17-12, 11-3 MIAA B Conference) cruised past the Yellowjackets (6-22, 2-12). Gerstell used a 26-8 run in the third quarter to pull away.

Tuesday’s boys basketball

GLENELG COUNTRY 79, GILMAN 59: Jalen Rucker scored a game-high 32 points, but the host Greyhounds (6-18, 3-12 MIAA A Conference Red Division) lost their 11th straight. The Dragons improved to 15-9, 9-7.

Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article.