Veteran Springbrook Welcomes Coach in Style

Though its experience with him had been brief, the current class of seniors at Springbrook was ecstatic when Oliver Riggs was named the school's third head coach in three years last offseason. Riggs -- the school's head of security and for five years a junior varsity boys' coach -- had filled in and coached them in five junior varsity games their freshman year, and that was enough for the Blue Devils.

"We knew that he was the one to take us to the championship," senior guard Taryn Christian said.

Christian may have been getting a bit ahead of herself by making such a statement after only one game, but the 17th-ranked Blue Devils (1-0) have reason to expect another successful season after a 54-41 victory last night at Damascus.

Christian scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the first half and the two-time defending Maryland 4A East Region champion made a first-time winner out of Riggs, a longtime baseball and basketball coach.

It's not uncommon for a coaching change to produce trepidation and questions for players over issues such as roles and playing style. It often makes for a difficult season for a group that has been together for a long time.

But not in this case, it seems.

"Everybody was excited" to have Riggs as the head coach, said senior guard Eryn Withers (10 points), who along with Christian has started for much of the past three years.

Each of the past two years has ended in state semifinal losses, so Riggs has inherited a team experienced and focused on winning a state title. He's also got himself a good team: Christian looks to be one of the area's better point guards, Withers is a threat from outside and junior forward Alyssa Montgomery (11 rebounds) is a strong rebounder.

On defense, the Blue Devils held Damascus (0-1) to 11-for-52 shooting. The Swarmin' Hornets were 20-5 last year, advancing to the 4A West Region final, but leading scorer Morgan Wrightson transferred to Notre Dame in the offseason.

No. 17 Springbrook 54 Damascus 41 A Quick Start: Senior guard Taryn Christian went 4 for 4 in the opening four minutes, giving Springbrook a lead it never came close to losing. She also had six rebounds, four steals and three blocks. High-Scoring Hornet: Senior forward Kailee May led the way with 15 points for Damascus.