Arundel Junior's Streak Can't Contain Raiders in Title Game

Ashley Davis did not walk off the floor of UMBC's RAC Arena on Monday night a state champion, as Eleanor Roosevelt won its fourth straight title, but Arundel's junior guard and floor leader dazzled the crowd with her second-half shooting, which brought the Wildcats within 30 seconds of their first state title since 2004.

Davis's hot streak started as the third quarter came to an end. Until the final seconds of the period, Arundel had scored only six points in the third and trailed 33-28. Davis caught a pass in the far corner with four seconds left. She launched a rainbow three-pointer and was fouled. The ball swished through, and when Davis completed the four-point play, her team trailed 33-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

"We were down, and we needed it. We had to get back in the game," said Davis, Arundel's second-leading scorer this season at 14 points per game.

With just over six minutes left in the game, Davis launched a 24-footer from the right side that gave Arundel a three-point lead. Soon, Eleanor Roosevelt Coach Rod Hairston had his players triple-team her.

But Davis wasn't fazed. Yolanda Reid grabbed a rebound when the game was tied at 40 and passed out to Davis, and she sank a three-pointer from well beyond the arc. With a minute left, Davis calmly hit two free throws to give her team a four-point lead.

Roosevelt came back to win 52-50, but Davis's statistics were nonetheless impressive. Thirteen of her 17 points came in the game's final 8 minutes 2 seconds.

"Our shooters are really a big part of our team, Ashley [Davis] and Ebonne [Jones]," said junior center Simone Egwu, the team's leading scorer and rebounder this season.

Egwu, Davis and sophomore Sherrone Vails were in tears and shared consoling hugs as they prepared to speak to the media after the trophy ceremony. Arundel had reached the final in convincing fashion -- its margin of victory in the postseason was 33.5 points per game -- so to lose the title in the final minute hit the team hard.

"Honestly, this is the worst feeling in the world. We didn't come here for second place," Egwu said. "This game was just taken from us."

All-Conference Honors

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association announced all-conference basketball teams this month, and several county players were honored.

St. Mary's junior guards Nick Groce and Trey Quinn were named all-MIAA B Conference. The pair led St. Mary's to the MIAA B Conference championship game, but the Saints lost to Mount Carmel, ending their bid for back-to-back league titles.

Severn senior forward Marvin Smith, whose last-second basket gave the Admirals their most satisfying win of the season -- a victory over archrival St. Mary's -- also was selected.

Three Key School players were named to the all-MIAA C Conference team. Seniors Fahmy El-Said, Steven Sligh and Theo Anthony led the Obezags to their first MIAA C Conference championship since joining the league five years ago.

On the girls' side, three Severn players were named to the MIAA B Conference team. Senior Taylor Wieczorek, junior Leanne Hug and sophomore Leah Cranmer helped the Admirals win their third league title in five seasons. Senior Danni Mink from Annapolis Area Christian was named to the all-MIAA C Conference team, and Spalding sophomore Janay Brinkley was an all-MIAA A Conference selection. . . .

St. Mary's standout guard Josh Morgan-Green, who missed the last two months of the season with a broken wrist, will play for Southern New Hampshire University next fall. The team, which has a .585 winning percentage over the past six seasons, has made the NCAA Division II tournament 12 times in 19 years under 23-year head coach Stan Spirou.