Locals Couldn't Slay Dragons

At the Bishop Walsh Invitational girls' basketball tournament banquet earlier this month, Notre Dame Coach Mike Teasley joked to Bishop McNamara Coach Robert Surratt that Surratt's team should take it easy on his Dragons in the event final, so they could end their fine season on a high note.

No way, Surratt said. He didn't want Notre Dame to go unbeaten against Washington area teams for a second straight year.

Well, that's what happened, and as that conversation indicated, it's not as if other top teams in the area didn't have their shots at the Dragons (28-2).

Notre Dame beat Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champion Bishop McNamara three times and also knocked off Virginia AAA finalist Forest Park, Maryland 4A champion Eleanor Roosevelt and DCIAA and City Title champion H.D. Woodson.

That's 6-0 against the Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 9 teams in the final Post rankings, not to mention several impressive wins against teams from outside the area. During one eight-day span, Notre Dame beat H.D. Woodson, McNamara and Oak Hill, all on the road.

"We really think it was our most special season yet in our five years, just because the strength of schedule showed how special this team was," Teasley said. "Even though we were competing nationally, it was very important where we stood in the D.C. area."

The Middleburg school's two losses this season were by four points to Long Beach Poly (Calif.) and by one to Archbishop Carroll (Pa).

The last Washington area team to beat Notre Dame was Riverdale Baptist on Jan. 31, 2006. The teams tried to schedule a game this season, but the first date conflicted with the Dragons wanting to watch alumna Ebonie Williams play when her Seton Hall team visited Georgetown. No makeup date was possible because of the teams' busy schedules, Teasley said, adding that he hopes to schedule the Crusaders for next season.

Seven Notre Dame seniors are graduating, including center Azania Stewart (Florida), forward Mia Nickson (Boston College), guard Kristin Coles (American), guard Morgan Wrightson (Bucknell) and guard-forward Josette Campbell, who is considering Louisville, Seton Hall, Illinois and other schools.

"I don't know what we'll be," Teasley said. "There are tons of kids calling and families are looking at our school because of what we have done."

Notre Dame is in good company when it comes to area success stories this season. Two teams finished unbeaten.

No. 2 Paint Branch went 25-0 to win the Maryland 3A title, its second in eight seasons. As undefeated seasons go, there was surprisingly little drama for the Panthers. They won every game by eight points or more; their average margin of victory was 30 points. With only two seniors, Paint Branch might be able to extend that win streak well into next season. In the state title win over Atholton, junior guard Tarik Hislop scored 23 points, freshman guard Brene Moseley scored 17 and junior forward Khalilah Quigley had 14.

No. 6 Mount Hebron went 28-0 to win the Maryland 2A crown. What the Paint Branch season lacked in drama, the Vikings more than made up for: Heading into the state final, five of the team's previous six wins had come by a combined total of 13 points, including a 54-53 win against previously unbeaten Winters Mill in the state semifinals.