Final ride for seniors
Potomac girls tops Chesapeake in SMAC senior all-star game
Seniors took the basketball court for one last time in Friday night’s Southern Maryland Athletic Conference senior girls basketball all-star game at Chopticon High School in Morganza.
Potomac Division, which featured players from Charles County schools, jumped out to a 23-11 lead midway in the second quarter before Chesapeake Division made a push at the end of the period to cut things to 30-21 at halftime.
Both teams battled in the second half, but guard play was the difference in the end as Potomac held on for the 59-53 victory over their division rivals from St. Mary’s and Calvert counties.
“It was an honor to be able to have the opportunity. I was able to get to know some of the girls who I admire watching during the season, so for me to be able to coach them was exciting in itself,” said Potomac coach Deshawn Kelly, the head coach of the McDonough Rams who led his team to the Class 1A South Region championship game. “We had so much talent they kind of coach themselves. We all had the same goal in mind and that was to be competitive, have fun and win.”
The combo guards from Westlake led the way for Potomac as Jasmine Gholson led all scorers with 17 points and Latavia Washington scored 16. Guards Jordan McDuffie (McDonough) and Desirae Shepard (St. Charles) added 10 and eight points, respectively, in the win.
As a team, Potomac hit eight three pointers in the game, while Chesapeake nailed four from beyond the arc.
Friday capped off a special senior season on the hardwood for both Gholson and Washington, who were key pieces in the Wolverines’ run to the 2A South Region championship game, finishing with 21 overall wins on the season.
“It was very exciting to play in the all-star game and get the win because I got to play with two of my teammates [Washington and Rayven Mayes] and Jordan McDuffie for my last game,” Gholson said. “We’ve played with each other in AAU when we were in elementary and middle school so it was fun to play with her again.”
For Chesapeake, Leonardtown forward Kayla Goldring finished with a team-high 13 points in her final game. Chopticon Anna Reese finished with nine points and JaNeeshea Gaskin of Great Mills added eight.
“It was great to play in the all-star game,” said Goldring, who was named SMAC’s Most Outstanding Player for this season. “I had a lot of fun. Being able to play in a Leonardtown uniform for the last time was very bittersweet.
It was also bittersweet for Chesapeake coach Christie Doerrer, the head coach of Leonardtown.
“The all-star game is obviously less stressful than any game during the season, so it was nice to be able to just be in a situation where everyone could relax, show their talents and have a good time. I was just honored to be a part of this,” Doerrer said.
Doerrer added: “First off, both teams coming together to put on a good game despite limited practice time. Secondly, the talent. SMAC I don’t think gets enough credit sometimes and the conference does have a lot of talented kids in it.”