‘There was no panic’
Indian Creek cruises by Glenelg Country to make it back-to-back conference titles
Indian Creek’s Ofundem Mbelem, left, tries to pass against Glenelg Country’s Lily Preston during the IAAM C Conference championship at Stevenson University in Owings Mills. Indian Creek won, 60-36.
Indian Creek girls basketball only catches a break when it lifts a trophy.
Injuries and illness hamstrung the Eagles’ season to the point where coach Casey Corkin could name on his fingers all the games he deployed his top seven players.
Even on championship Sunday, Indian Creek’s bus up to Stevenson University arrived late and then took them to the wrong campus. Their lunch order came in wrong. And at halftime of the Interscholastic Athletic Association
of Maryland C Conference final, opposing Glenelg Country School stomped their momentum — and eight-point lead — into the ground for a tie.
“And who cares? This team is always going to face adversity, but you got to get through it without panicking,” Corkin said. “There was no panic on the bus ride. There was even no panic at halftime, though there was yelling for sure.
“We just told them to go back to doing what was successful — and we’re gonna win this game.”
Indian Creek put it all behind them with a dominant second half, dropping in baskets without much interruption to cruise to a 60-36 victory for its second straight league title, a first in program history.
“We told the girls to play hard and have fun,” Corkin said, “and from the third quarter on, that’s what they did.”
The Dragons and Eagles (19-6, 14-1 IAAM C Conference) split their regular-season meetings, but their previous contest — a 20-point Glenelg Country victory — was given an asterisk in Indian Creek’s eyes. It was without Abbey Bunker because of an illness.
Glenelg Country (17-4, 13-2) didn’t face a healthy Indian Creek team in the regular season. So, Corkin and crew kept those cards tight to their chests — specifically just how effective it could be when its speedy guards get out in transition with freshmen bigs Stephanie Bunker and Ofundem Mbelem.
The post players each scored 19 points and were named the game’s co-Most Valuable Players. Abbey Bunker added 10 points for the Eagles.
Indian Creek’s Malinda Morgan, left, shoots against Glenelg Country’s Lily Preston during the IAAM C Conference championship at Stevenson University in Owings Mills. Indian Creek won, 60-36.
“Last game, we didn’t play as a team,” said Mbelem, who added 19 rebounds, two assists and a steal in the victory. “So I knew if we came together this time, we could do it.”
The glass trophy and plaque Mbelem kissed after it was done is only the program’s third, but likely not to be the last if things remain the same. Three-fourths of the team that outscored the Dragons 36-12 in the second half consists of underclassmen.
But staying the same is not what Corkin wants to happen now.
“We’re at a point where we got to rise up to the B [Conference],” Corkin said. “I think when we played a lot of B teams this year, we weren’t healthy and we came up short, but we’re ready to make the move.”
Seniors led the Eagles to last year’s title and the difference that experience makes played out in the first few minutes.
While boxing out and running out in transition, the Eagles could’ve created a world in which they’d be leading at least 10 and driving Glenelg Country to a rushed timeout.
Instead, Indian Creek’s shots splattered against the rim, and they were scoreless until Stephanie Bunker’s layup four minutes in.
Nonetheless, Mbelem made a free throw that closed the deficit to 10-9 and then grabbed a rebound that turned into a basket and an 11-10 advantage.
The score was tied at 24 at halftime after freshman Kayden McDaniel sparked an 8-0 Glenelg Country run.
When the Eagles returned from the break, all they repeated was a thought like a prayer: we have the team that can win.
Indian Creek’s Abbey Bunker drives to the basket for a shot in Sunday’s game.
“Why did we get away from getting to Ofundem and Stephanie? We were playing individual ball when we had to play as a team,” Corkin said. “That’s what’s going to work. They pound the ball inside, it doesn’t matter if the bigs miss the first time. Keep pounding the ball inside and it’s gonna open up.”
Mbelem and Stephanie Bunker, who also had 17 rebounds, played like their fingertips ended in magnets, securing boards, scoring putbacks and grabbing loose balls.
An 11-2 run put Indian Creek up 37-26, and the confidence trickled down the roster as Skyla Houde, Norah Young, Morgan battered down Dragons for baskets.
“We told them to keep running the ball,” Corkin said. “Get easy buckets on a longer floor. People are gonna get tired.”
Glenelg Country withered and the Eagles took control. Mbelem closed the third quarter with a field goal that made it 43-31. The Bunker sisters partnered up for two transition scores next. And when the Dragons asked for a timeout to breathe, Indian Creek’s sidelines spilled onto the floor with red, cheering faces, jumping up and down as if they’d won already.
For all intents and purposes, they had.
While the Eagles never let up, the Dragons offense did. McDaniel struggled to make shots against Indian Creek’s suffocating defense.
But even when Indian Creek’s lead ballooned to 20, Mbelem never felt peace.
“I’ve seen teams come back from that. I knew we still had to play,” she said. “Even if we’re hyped.”
Finally, with a minute left, Corkin swapped his starters out. And Mbelem smiled.