Halftime has a habit of making Severn girls basketball a little drowsy. But Monday, there was no chance the Admirals would let that happen.
“Third and fourth quarter is our struggle bus,” coach Sharnae Hunt said. “I tell them, come out like it’s 0-0.”
Their coach’s words rattled in their minds, pushing them onward – but not without a little help.
Every time the Severn players zoomed past the bench, the shouts of the bench players filled their ears, adding to the pounding frenzy inside Severna Park’s gym.
Hunt encouraged it and tried to match it. Any time Hunt spotted a whiff of drained energy in a player cycling off the floor, the coach “dug within herself” and pumped them up.
Severn rode waves of energy to beat Severna Park, 42-33, improving to 4-1 overall before facing Broadneck on Wednesday.
“It’s the best feeling,” junior Valerie Waugh (12 points) said. “This a good team with some really good athletes. But once we got into our groove, we got it.”
At first, Severn looked ready to run away, jumping ahead, 7-1. But just as quickly as the Admirals pulled ahead, star shooter Amyah Heyliger got hit with three fouls.
Without her on the floor for most of the first, second and third quarters, the Admirals not only lost a threat on the perimeter and interior, but Heyliger’s leadership on the floor.
“So, I had to find someone else to do that.” Hunt said.
It took a committee, but Severn maintained its composure. Maddie Ripley, Kendall Austin and Layla Epps tag-teamed the role, the coach said.
After struggling with only three points in the first quarter, Severna Park got within 19-12 by halftime. The warning signs were there that the Falcons weren’t going away easily.
Three minutes into the third quarter, those sirens blared.
Falcons senior Erin Hussey’s opening 3-pointer cut the gap to four. Heyliger returned to the floor, but, following a Hussey layup, she committed her fourth foul. In response, Severna Park scored six straight.
“I had to call [one of my last] timeouts,” Hunt said. “I said, ‘Severna Park went on a run because Amyah hit her fourth foul. They got that energy. You guys gotta transpose that and get energy from that.’”
The closer the score, the rowdier the gym. The only silence during the third quarter came from the held breaths as Severna Park sophomore Izzy Burleson raced up to make a layup before the buzzer.
Then, the Severna Park half of the gym erupted. The Falcons were within two at 29-27.
“I just tried to stay in my head the whole game,” Waugh said. “’Don’t think about anybody else. I know what I can do. I know what my players can do. Just make a pass.’”
Hussey, who menaced the visitors in the third quarter, fouled out shortly into the fourth.
The Falcons were far from lacking with Hussey sidelined, but the absence punctured Severna Park’s chances all the same.
Waugh led her teammates at the free throw line, hitting 3 of 5 while Heyliger struck from beyond the arc. After that, Severna Park never threatened the lead again.
“We knew what we could do. We pumped it up even more,” Waugh said. “We got all the shots, all the passes. I think we were really strong at the end.”
SEVERN — 11 8 10 13 – 42
SEVERNA PARK — 3 9 15 6 – 33
Points – SV: Valerie Waugh 12, Layla Epps 11, Kendall Austin 7, Amaya Heyliger 6, Nora Pavon 3, Brynn Houghton 3, Maddie Ripley 2; SP: Izzy Burleson 10, Erin Hussey 8, Charley Coward 7, Abby Cover 2, Josie Crockett 2, Lena Slade 2, Payton Jeffers 1, Gabi Villegas 1
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