CATONSVILLE, Md., March 12 -- South River focused its entire defensive strategy on containing Eleanor Roosevelt's Selena Nwude in Saturday's Maryland girls' 4A final. But even when the Seahawks used three players to defend the space around Nwude, they could do nothing to fill the space above her.
Nwude, a 6-foot-5 center who stands six inches above any South River player, scored 12 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Roosevelt to a 54-37 win at University of Maryland- Baltimore County's RAC Arena, giving the Raiders their first state title.
Kairsten Nunn has her shot blocked by South Rivers's Kim Milligan but it didn't deter Eleanor Roosevelt from winning its first state title.
(Mark Gail -- The Washington Post)
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Roosevelt (21-5) held South River (21-6) to a season low for points and led by at least nine points for the final three quarters.
"We knew that if we got the ball in to Selena, she'd get us a state championship," Roosevelt Coach Rod Hairston said. "That's been our game plan all year: Let her dominate; let her find open teammates. It always works."
Roosevelt fed Nwude the ball on most of its first-half possessions, rendering South River helpless. Even when the center stood flat-footed and held the ball above her head, Seahawks defenders who jumped around her could not reach the ball.
Five times in the first half, Nwude turned toward the basket and made a five-foot jumper over defenders. Several other times, she passed to open teammates standing near the three-point line.
On four consecutive possessions early in the second quarter, Nwude either made a jumper or threw a pass to wide-open guard Kairsten Nunn, who finished with a team-high 14 points. By the time Nunn and Nwude had finished with their run, Roosevelt led, 26-9, with four minutes left in the second quarter.
South River never got back in the game, largely because Roosevelt limited guard Stacy Hunt to three shots. The South River star averaged 19.3 points coming into the game, and she finished with six. Senior Rachel Fry led the Seahawks with 19 points Saturday, but no other player scored in double figures.
"I knew they were small, and I could take advantage," said Nwude, who grabbed six offensive rebounds. "No matter how many people they had guarding me, I wasn't going to slow down."
Said South River's Hunt: "They jumped ahead, and we could never get going again. They were so much bigger that we couldn't get rebounds. I mean, we tried everything, but you can only stop [Nwude] so much."
To Nwude, the game was a perfect ending to a season that had been anything but.
The junior partially tore several ligaments in her left ankle at the end of the volleyball season, which kept her out of Roosevelt's first five basketball games. Then, just as she readied to re-enter the lineup, Nwude's grandmother died. She missed three weeks of classes and basketball games to attend the funeral in Nigeria.
Nwude finally debuted in the Raiders' ninth game, and she wore a brace on her left ankle for the entire season.
"It felt like I'd never get back," Nwude said. "A lot of this season was a nightmare. I was hurt, then my grandmother died, and I came back and felt rusty. This season had a terrible start, but I can't complain after this finish."
