Falcons advance
Severna Park outlasts South River in triple overtime to win region championship
Ryn Feemster wasn’t sure anyone saw her.
She gripped her head in her hands, the first smile in hours splitting features that had been consumed by triple overtime, Class 3A East Region II final stress. She survived four fouls through four periods and took on a third of Severna Park’s scoring.
When teammate Maddy Sullivan’s free throw dinged off the rim, South River scrapped for the rebound that could save it and close a three-point gap with enough time to do it. Feemster reached for the ball, too.
But it was Sullivan herself, pulling the ball free and depositing it into the basket, earning the fivepoint lead that would be enough to keep South River at bay for good.
“We got this in the bag,” Feemster remembered thinking. “My hands are on my head; I’m running back, mindless, like, ‘OK, if we focus, no fouls, no free throws, and capitalize on offense …”
South River, which fought
Severna Park throughout the seven frames and threw its heart onto its home court for two hours and change, had nothing left. The Falcons, at last, left the basketball behind and rushed into each other’s arms with a 59-54 final on the board.
Severna Park will host Oxon Hill on Saturday in the 3A state quarterfinals.
“Having more time together is all I cared about,” Sullivan said. “It sounds so corny, but it’s true.”
Flashing through the chaos, Sullivan remembered her coaches’ advice to drive through the square and stay composed. Don’t fade away.
But unlike Feemster, Sullivan didn’t realize after sticking back the five-point lead what she’d really done.
“I screamed, but I scream all the time,” she said. “But it was backand-forth the entire game; [South River] could easily get back into this game. It didn’t register we were actually winning until like two seconds left.”
It was Feemster, with 20 points almost entirely wrought beyond regulation, that was the first to jump when the clock hit zero — and she knew it hadn't all been for nothing. She knew, when she accepted the regionplaque,turnedtoherteamand whoopedthatshecouldfinally,blissfully, collapse into her bed and sleep.
And yet, for most of Wednesday night, she carried three more fouls thanpoints.FalconscoachKrisDean praised South River for speeding Severna Park out of system, limiting the right spots for Feemster.
But despite the danger four fouls posed, she rose off the bench in the fourth quarter and flung herself into the action. She poured in nine points almost entirely from the foul line to keep pace with South River through regulation. When scoring general Erin Hussey fouled out early into the first overtime, and swift and physical Maria Bragg earned her fifth in the second extra session, Feemster assumed their scoring and rebounding duties.
Itwasher,fightingthroughacornfield of limbs, that picked out the last ball of the second overtime for the tying point. It was her that struck back against South River when it briefly assumed the third overtime lead.
“Thoughtless,”Feemstersaidwith a smirk, is how she survives those kindsofsituations.Sheneversomuch as peeks at the scoreboard to check her points or fouls, though she did know the danger she was in.
Inthosemoments,Feemsterimagines the scoreboard to read “South River 0, Severna Park 0.” And she remembers her youth.
As a sophomore, a former teammate of hers used to rack up fouls, forcingFeemsterintothepointguard position mid-game.
“I think I needed to take that composure as a sophomore and implement it my senior year, especially in such a close game like this,” she said, “to handle the ball instead of going in blind.”
Then there's the bright lights of Loyola University's field. Feemster starredasadefenderforbothFalcons' state champion girls lacrosse and girls soccer teams last spring and fall, where she learned how to, in her words, embrace “life and death.”
“And the other girls too, Erin [Hussey] and Maria [Bragg], they've been in those situations with other sports even though they're juniors andsophomores,”Feemstersaid.“We can keep our calm in such intense situations. It just really sets us apart from some other teams that don't have multi-sport athletes.”
Sullivan, one of six seniors, never played an overtime game in her four years with Severna Park, let alone threeinone.Butthedrillshercoaches laidouthardenedthem—justincase. Drills that say, “You're tired,” Dean said, “but you got more to give.”
Still, Feemster took a deep breath for every timeout.
“Just keeping our composure both on and off the court during timeouts really like put us ahead I feel like because we came out relaxed and focused,” Feemster said, “instead of rushingitandforcingpasses—which would cause turnovers. We didn't want that.
The first half dragged to an 18-18 tie. But Dean saw the red flags: Bragg, Hussey, Feemster and others, tagged with three or four fouls. The Seahawks led 30-28 after three quarters. And the air raid quality of play quickly transformed into a trench battle in the post. So come fourth quarter, Dean emptied the bench — a constant, fresh rotation to help around the foul line and lean more scoring chances Severna Park's way.
“We knew we had good defenders on the bench. We knew we had to slow [South River] down,” the Falcons coach said. “We've done this before, practiced it, maybe not to the extentofthreeatatime,butwedidn't really have a choice tonight. And the girls did a wonderful job. They saved our season.”