Girls basketball

Francis Scott Key 55, Liberty 51:

The comeback kids strike again.

After being down by as many as 15 in the first quarter, No. 11 Francis Scott Key remained calm and — more importantly — undefeated in Carroll County play after defeating Liberty, 55-51, in a thriller Tuesday night.

Both coaches knew this game would not be the same as their Dec. 20 matchup FSK won by 17. Liberty’s Jenna Liska was back in the lineup after missing the first meeting injured. The combination of Liska and some sophomores with more confidence and experience made Liberty a unique threat to FSK’s undefeated conference record.

“I told the girls going in, ‘This Liberty team is finally back to 100% and they’re coming for you,’ ” coach TJ Develin said. “‘Can you handle being the hunted?’ ”

The Lions were indeed on the hunt in the first quarter, using Liska’s passing ability to move the ball and find open shooters. Haleigh Hodges started the game hot. She finished the game with a game-high 16 points and did most of her damage in a first quarter where Liberty jumped on the Eagles, getting out to a doubledigit first-quarter lead.

Francis Scott Key needed a response and fast. With halftime approaching and many wondering if the Eagles’ perfect conference record would hold, they ripped off a 21-9 run to end the second half. One timeout was all it took for Develin and his girls to wake up.

“I told them everyone, including me, was trying to do too much,” he said. “Play ball, have fun and play FSK basketball.”

What looked like a blowout in the making became a tight possession-by-possession contest in the third. With Hodges and backcourt mate Dani Paulsen having to grind without Liska for most of the quarter due to foul trouble, FSK made adjustments and ended the quarter on another run as the back-and-forth quarter ended with just a one-point Liberty lead.

“You gotta give it to those seniors at FSK,” Green said. “They worked hard and TJ’s one of the best in the county.”

Just a minute into a tight fourth quarter, a momentum-halting blow was dealt to Green and the Lions. Liska picked up her fifth foul and with her on the bench, the Lions’ interior presence went with her. Ally Mathis, who had a tough shooting night, was still able to make an impact and grab eight key rebounds for her team.

The duo of Summer Brooks (15 points) and Rayna Miller (14 points) led the way down the stretch as the Eagles went from down 15 in the first to up by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter.

— Timothy Dashiell

Harford Tech 79, Dulaney 74 Annapolis 45, Meade 39

South River 67, Northeast-AA 33 Broadneck 53, North County 16