Top-seed Glen Burnie beats rival
Gophers gain ‘heavyweight fight’ win against Old Mill, 65-56
When coach Sam Porter constantly says Glen Burnie girls basketball is leveling up, this is what he means.
Last year, the Gophers relied on secondhalf heroics from Amourie Porter to beat rival Old Mill in the Class 4A East Region I final. This time, in the same game, against the same opponent, the Gophers deployed a full team effort to lead nearly the entire way.
The No. 1 seed Gophers proved to the world what they believed in themselves: they’re not the same team they were a year ago, impressive as it was. Glen Burnie took down Old Mill, 65-56, on Wednesday to repeat as region champions. Their state quarterfinal opponent will be decided after reseeding.
Glen Burnie’s unbeaten record last year was its downfall according to Lania Nick. But scheduling private school powers like St. Frances and Mercy — who the Gophers lost to by slim margins — matured Glen Burnie.
“This is a different team, a different mindset,” Coach Porter said. “The girls know what it is now. We’re not the same old GB. In tough spots, they pick up.”
For each team’s seniors, this was the final meeting in a fierce rivalry.
“That was a heavyweight fight, and we dropped it,” Patriots coach Henry Fuller said. “It’s hurtful, but we’ll use this as a learning experience.”
Layla Washington and her fellow Glen Burnie seniors genuinely feel sympathy for that.
“They’ve grown to respect our game and we’ve grown to respect theirs,” Washington said. “It’s nice to know we’ve come out on top, that we’ve pushed to keep defeating that over and over, but you feel for them at the same time.”
Glen Burnie’s 7-0 lead wasn’t enough against Old Mill senior Amani Watts (23 points) when she started turning rebounds into points. Old Mill also threw its best guards on Amourie Porter, locking the senior captain down until the second quarter.
Fortunately for the hosts, Porter’s far from their only shooter. Washington and Nick combined for 20 points in the first half.
Coach Porter pulled Nick aside before Wednesday’s game and told her she was due for a big game. Too often, on this stage, she lingered in the shadows. Not Wednesday, as she scored 22 points. As for Washington, his “multi-tool,” the countless extra shots she took in practice were finally falling. She finished with 10 points to go with 11 rebounds.
“Layla and Nia carried us,” Sam Porter said. “Big basket after big basket.”
That was the difference Porter saw in Washington, Nick and senior Aichatta Soumaoro. Missed tasks in big games rattled them before. But not anymore.
“Play in the fire,” the coach said. “They understand we have a mission.”
Just when Glen Burnie thought it broke away, building a 10-point lead, Watts,
Navaeh Brown and Nyasia Futrell put in baskets. A 10-2 Patriots run slashed Glen Burnie’s lead to 33-31. The Gophers forced an Old Mill turnover that led to a 3-pointer by Amourie Porter for a 36-31 halftime lead. The senior finished the night with 28 points and 14 rebounds.
But Old Mill picked up where it left off in the second half, not letting Glen Burnie separate itself. Though Amourie Porter continued to blossom, accounting for Glen Burnie’s first nine points, Old Mill practically traded her point for point. The Gophers survived the frame, holding on to a 48-42 lead.
But Watts kept the Patriots in it by cleaning up on the glass.
“That girl’s a beast,” Amourie Porter said. “A double-double machine. But some of those shots she got were too easy. We weren’t boxing out. She wanted it; we didn’t want it.”
Futrell and Brown hit 3-pointers to tie the game at 54. McKenzie Singletary put the Patriots ahead.
The Gophers kept their composure. They took the time to get the shots they wanted.
“We knew we needed the lead. The pressure was building. The refs were getting in our heads,” Nick said. “We knew we needed it, and get back on defense, and stop them.”
Nick’s 3-point shot fell and Old Mill never came close to overtaking the Gophers again. It never scored again.
With just two minutes left and a point separating the two, the Gophers and Patriots tripped over one another in desperate chases for possession, but Glen Burnie came away with it. Sam Porter laid a lot of credit on freshman Starr Munford, who stepped up in pulling down boards and playing tough defense. That flowed into an offense keen on pushing the ball.
“When we play defense how we’re supposed to, it’s tough to beat us,” the coach said.
Old Mill’s hope crumbled quickly. And injury issues began to hamper its stars.
“But that doesn’t matter. We fought to get up, and turned the ball over,” Fuller said.
The stage darkened for a spotlight on Amourie Porter. The senior scored eight straight points after Nick’s 3.
“We all got that chip on our shoulder. We all got that grit,” she said. “It showed tonight.”