Whitman Tops Springbrook Again

Whitman's Erin Brown (game-high 18 points) breaks through the trap of Springbook's Wilize Maleombho, left, and Ashley Moore. The Vikings improved to 12-3, 8-1 with the win. (By Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)

Erin Brown knew she and her Whitman teammates could play their own game to beat Springbrook. They did that last month. Last night, they wanted to show the visiting Blue Devils they could beat them at their game, too.

No. 17 Springbrook tried to slow the pace and Whitman played along, placing more emphasis on each possession. The Vikings made the most of the times they had the ball and held off Springbrook, 43-40, in a Montgomery 4A East girls' game.

"Our goal is to keep running, and we did that the first time against them," Brown said of Whitman's 52-41 victory on Dec. 21. "They wanted to slow it down. We were comfortable making it a defensive game. We wanted to show we were capable of playing like that."

The Vikings (12-3, 8-1) scored the game's first 10 points and held Springbrook to four and five points, respectively, in the first two quarters. The Blue Devils struggled to find any offensive rhythm, in part because officials permitted ample physical play. Springbrook Coach Oliver Riggs said his players did not pick up on that and adjust quickly enough.

"If they're not blowing the whistle, then you've got to attack," he said. "But we broke down defensively, and we let them have too many second and third shots."

In the second half, Springbrook (12-3, 6-3) was the team getting multiple offensive chances and pulled within 23-22 with a minute left in the third quarter.

Whitman senior Zoe Walsh hit a layup and freshman Caroline Kahlenberg hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to six. But after Springbrook closed to 28-27 with 6 minutes 14 seconds to play, the Blue Devils could not take the lead, and turned the ball over on their next three possessions.

"You never know what might happen if we convert there," Riggs said. "That definitely gave the momentum back to them."

Up one, Whitman sophomore Morgan Werner hit a three-pointer and Brown nailed a jumper and two free throws to keep Springbrook at bay. Brown scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Springbrook's Eryn Withers and Taryn Christian each hit a three-pointer in the final 23 seconds to make it close, but Whitman made 8 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off the Blue Devils.

In the boys' game that followed, No. 18 Springbrook jumped to an 18-point lead midway through the second quarter and held on to a double-figure margin throughout for a 67-48 victory. Junior guard C.J. Garner scored 20 of his game-high 23 points before halftime.

Whitman 43 No. 17 Springbrook 40 Changing of the Guard: Springbrook has won three straight girls' region titles, a fact that added significance to Whitman's season sweep. The Vikings haven't captured a region title since winning three straight from 1993 to '95. Dry Spells: Both teams had three four-minute stretches apiece where they did not make a basket.