Glen Burnie girls send ‘a big message’ with win vs. Old Mill
One year and half a new team later, Glen Burnie girls basketball are still the queens — especially when it comes to beating Old Mill.
Despite a plethora of new faces surrounding defending Player of the Year Amourie Porter, last year’s undefeated county champions shook off a midgame Patriots rally and dispatched them by double-digits, 59-47, on Friday in a sold-out Glen Burnie gym.
“It sends a big message out to the county, state, everything,” senior Lania Nick said. “That we still are that team.”
The Patriots (0-1) thirsted for revenge against the team that not only prevented them from winning their seventh county championship in a row last season but handed them four losses and denied them a trip to the state tournament in a region final. Porter, who all but single-handedly upset Old Mill in that game, did not need to enact a miracle when the Patriots took momentum this time.
By the second half Friday, Gophers (2-0) old and new contributed just as often, if not more, such as a full-court layup by senior Cassidy Wilkerson, 3-pointers and steals by freshman Starr Munford, or equally impactful defensive maneuvering by sophomore Trinity Munford.
“A lot of teams think if you stop me, we got nothing. I think that just proves we got a lot of talent on our team,” said Porter, who recorded 24 points, “that it’s gonna take more than one person to stop us.”
Perhaps a year ago, coach Sam Porter might’ve been satisfied by the result. But he wasn’t.
The Gophers still wear their 202122 motto “Raise the Bar” on their warmup shirts because that’s what they want to keep doing. Porter wanted more from his seniors, who know the playbook better than anyone else. He wanted his younger players, whom he affectionately dubs his “babies” and the “pups,” to shake off the fear he felt they wore against another mighty team.
Moreover, the Gophers coach wants to eradicate one failure on Friday most of all.
“We let them back in the game. When we’re up, we can’t let them back,” Porter said. “If you look at last year’s team, they didn’t let nobody back in. They went from one level to the next.
“This team’s IQ level is crazy. But they gotta get out of being afraid.”
Manchester Valley 34, Westminster 20:
Early-season basketball games can be a challenge. Luckily for Manchester Valley, Carmaya Bowman knew she was up for one.
The senior scored 15 points, including all nine of her team’s points in the third quarter, to give the visiting Mavericks a 34-20 win in a defensive battle.
Freshman Abby Kindle led the Owls (1-1, 0-1) with 11 points.
The Mavericks, who lost most of their scoring to graduation last season, are finding ways to win differently this year.
— Mike Frainie
Pikesville 77, Western Tech 19: She may not have started the game, but Bree Taylor’s impact was felt as soon as she stepped onto the court Friday night.
After a slow offensive start for Pikesville, the junior guard subbed in halfway through the first quarter and quickly helped her teammates rattle off 36 unanswered points.
The eye-popping first-half run — highlighted by forced turnovers, blocked shots and fast-break layups — helped the Panthers cruise to a 77-19 season-opening victory over Western Tech.
— Ben Heck
Eastern Tech 51, Patapsco 26 Hereford 60, Lansdowne 9
Sparrows Point 51, Kenwood 27 Towson 57, Dundalk 21 Chesapeake-AA 58, Northeast 32
St. Mary’s 70, Garrison Forest 27 Severna Park 39, Broadneck 26 Indian Creek 55, Catholic 21
Mount de Sales 46, St. Paul’s 25 McDonogh 60, St. Vincent Pallotti 41 South Carroll 50, Frederick 44 Francis Scott Key 63, Smithsburg 37 Atholton 59, Wilde Lake 39
Mt. Hebron 40, Oakland Mills 38 Glenelg 54, Centennial 16
Marriotts Ridge 45, Long Reach 27 Howard 71, Hammond 42
Boys basketball
Wilde Lake 68, Atholton 49: Senior Dylan Gooden transferred to Wilde Lake from Good Counsel just a few days ago. It didn’t take him long to make his mark.
Gooden, in his first game with the Wildecats, rose up on Wilde Lake’s opening possession of the second half and threw down an emphatic dunk. Gooden had a highlight-reel 22-point performance in Wilde Lake’s 68-49 win over Atholton.
“He brings energy as you could see,” Wilde Lake coach Jay McMillan. “He brings physicality, he brings a tenacity on defense, on the boards, in the huddle. His presence throughout the whole team has been a boost.”
Havre de Grace 82, Perryville 60:
Havre de Grace ran away from visiting Perryville early on Friday night to secure an 82-60 win in a battle between Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference schools.
The Panthers (2-1) led in the opening seconds on a Davonte Clore 3-pointer, but Havre de Grace sophomore guard Jason Hayes scored the next five points and the Warriors (2-0) never trailed again.
Hayes scored 19 points to lead four Warriors in double figures. Cameron Ball scored 10 second-half points and finished with 16, while Johnny Coit had 13 and Quintin Daniels added 10. Isaiah Frasier scored eight for Havre de Grace as did Kyle Richardson for Perrvyille.
“We have a lot of guards, we don’t have a whole bunch of size where we’re gonna try to pound the ball into the post,” Warriors coach Brian Eberhardt said. “We have guards and we’ve got to get into the open floor. 2-0 on the week, it’s a great way to start and we’ll look to build on that.”
South River 55, Southern 40 Broadneck 32, Severna Park 26 Patapsco 60, Eastern Tech 42 Pikesville 50, Western Tech 39 Chesapeake-BC 73, Carver A&T 50 Dundalk 80, Towson 52
Liberty 63, Edgewood 59
Gilman 68, Gerstell 65
Smithsburg 45, Francis Scott Key 37 Frederick 71, South Carroll 43 Mount Hebron 49, Crofton 30 Meade 88, North County 43 Archbishop Curley 51, Severn 34 Centennial 52, Glenelg 46
Long Reach 78, Marriotts Ridge 58 Reservoir 74, River Hill 63