St. Mary’s girls basketball defeated the reigning Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champions.
Granted, the Eagles lost its best player to transfer, but the black-and-orange squad that christened the game with back-to-back 3-point plays quickly proved it was still a lethal contender.
“This is the same team that ended our season in the playoffs last year,” junior Alex Vandiver said. “We came in with a chip on our shoulder.”
The Saints manifested the 59-45 victory after breaking sharply from McDonogh at the top of the third quarter and never looking back. Junior guard Bailey Harris, who dropped 29 on Wednesday, ignited the second-half shift with seven straight points in the first minute.
That, she and Vandiver reckon, should send a message.
“We wanna win. We wanna make it to the playoffs,” Harris said.
“And win the championship,” Vandiver added.
St. Mary’s exited the B Conference as undefeated champion but struggled through its first stint in the A last winter. This week alone, the Saints (5-5) knocked off the No. 2 team in the league and battled to a close shave with the top, St. Frances, on Monday.
Harris, despite coming off a 36-point outburst against the Panthers, credited her team’s balance among her teammates for its success.
“Last year, there was a solid three [Harris, Vandiver and Baily Walden] who would do the scoring,” she said. “Now, we have to rely on each other to get the passes, get the screens, do what they’re supposed to do.”
St. Mary’s coach Leo Latonick had to call the timeout when he did.
McDonogh sophomore Iffie Umeh screamed when she broke down St. Mary’s post defense for a 3-point play, followed by another from Jada Russell. The Eagles protected their net as fiercely as the actual bird would her nest. In the melee inside, Harris and Vandiver kept the Saints alive with rebounds.
But even so, McDonogh smothered St. Mary’s offense. Only freshman Casey O’Hare could eke a basket out in the first six minutes — the rest of the Saints’ scoring flew from the foul line.
When Eagles sophomore Kiri Faimanifo hit from the perimeter for a 9-3 advantage, Latonick drew his team in and said, per Harris’ recollection, “Get it together.” The Eagles scored their baskets off St. Mary’s miscommunications, they agreed.
“We looked like we were asleep out there,” the coach said. “But they fixed it, and then it was good.”
Harris flipped the lead with her first layup in the midst of a 11-0 run, closing the first quarter 13-9.
It couldn’t last. The Eagles couldn’t so easily score inside anymore, but the outside was still ripe for the taking. The two sides traded six 3-pointers; when Faimanifo hit her third three of the night, Vandiver struck back with her two of her own and a mid-range jumper to switch the lead for the fourth time in eight minutes.
The Eagles worked to regain control before halftime, but the Saints defenders crashed upon them from all sides, and St. Mary’s maintained a 29-24 edge. For her defensive work, senior Anna Ervin later earned a bouquet of Tootsie Roll pops.
“As long as we can play defense without fouling people, I’m good,” Latonick said. “We went all man in the second half. Their big kids are pretty good outside shooters, but we wanted to give them only contested shots in the second half. … I think we did.”
Harris wouldn’t relent the third quarter to the same sort of back-and-forth if she could stop it. She sparked the second half with a basket, stole McDonogh’s ball for another and drained a trey to push the first double-digit margin, 36-24, and drive McDonogh to its first timeout.
It wasn’t just star power rocketing St. Mary’s forward, either. If Eagles covered a Saint, she passed the ball on. No one forced anything.
“No one’s caring who’s doing what,” Vandiver said. “We’re all just happy with whoever’s scoring, whoever’s charging, whoever’s getting the rebound.”
A fifth foul sidelined Russell shortly after her second 3-pointer and served a gut punch to McDonogh’s shot at a comeback. By the final minute, Latonick pulled all starters but Harris.
Now, all St. Mary’s can think of is facing South River on Saturday, and what beating what they believe to be the best Anne Arundel public school team would feel like.
“We’ve played some really good teams. They’re physical, they pressure us, and I thought we did a much better job of taking care of the ball tonight against a team like that,” Latonick said. “We’re used to it at this point.”
McDonogh – 9 15 8 13 – 45
St. Mary’s – 13 16 13 17 – 59
Scoring
MC: Mya Clark 15, Jada Russell 12, Kiri Faimanifo 9, Iffie Umeh 5, Ari Benjamin 4
SM: Bailey Harris 29, Alex Vandiver 21, Casey O’Hare 5, Gabby Mitchell 2, Anna Ervin 2
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