The County Times
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Section B -
Section
Sports and Community Interest B Hornets Go Down in Regional Championship, 98-77 By Andrew Knowlton Staff Writer For once all season, the Great Mills Hornets boys’ basketball team went into a game the underdogs. Facing Largo High School (24-0) - arguably the best public school team in the Metropolitan area - in the 3A South Region championship Saturday, the Hornets knew they would have their hands full. “We’ve seen them play and we knew that they were quick,” said Great Mills Head Coach Frank Peck. “You don’t really get a feel for it until you play them, and when you play them you realize that they have that speed and the ability to sustain their intensity for the entire game.” Still, the Hornets took the floor at Wise High in Upper Marlboro with confidence. In the first quarter, 6-5 center Trae Jacobs, who was matched up against Largo’s 6-11 center Maurice Sutton, was nearly unstoppable. He scored 12 of Great Mills’ 16 first quarter points, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals and one block, while Sutton struggled both offensively and defensively. “We came in well prepared and I thought we came in very confident and ready to play hard,” Peck said. “The question was were we going to be able to play smart and under control. And we did that.” While Largo missed several attempts at alley-oops - including one off the glass - the Hornets took advantage, but still found themselves down 18-16 after the first period of play. “It’s a regional championship game,” said Largo Head Coach Lewis Howard. “They didn’t come from Great Mills to lay down. We knew we were going to have a ball game.” A layup by Hornet guard B.J. Brown and a Jonny Dickerson putback gave the Hornets the lead momentarily. Largo responded with a quick fastbreak score, which Dickerson matched on the other end on a backdoor layup. But Largo’s Kwame Morgan connected on a threepointer while getting fouled. He sunk the foul shot to make it a four-point play and sparked a run that would put Largo up 4334 at halftime. In that time, Jacobs picked up his third foul and was forced to sit out the rest of the first half. See Hornets Go Down page B-
Hornet guard BJ Brown defends a Largo player. Brown scored 15 points and pulled down six rebounds in the loss.
Bouncing Back With Hope By Andrew Knowlton Staff Writer Despite suffering a 92-76 loss to Hood College in the Capital Athletic Conference playoffs, the Seahawks of Saint Mary’s College are bouncing back with strong goals for next season: “winning the league and going to the tournament,” according to Head Coach Chris Harney. It didn’t take long for players to set these goals, Harney said. “All they talked about on the bus ride home from Hood was getting ready for next year.” The Seahawks (16-11 overall) finished the 2007 season with their best record in seven years. They also defeated every team in the league at least once, except Catholic University. Next year, Harney says he expects the team to win 20 plus games, including the CAC championship. “I can’t imagine the last time people at St. Mary’s were talking about going to the tournament,” Harney said. This goal should be attainable considering the ‘Hawks return their top three scorers and graduate just two seniors. Second team All-CAC selection, guard Tyson Lesesne, will be back to lead the Seahawks next year for his senior campaign. See Seahawks page B-
Photo by Andrew Knowlton
Largo Topples Lady Hornets By Andrew Knowlton Staff Writer The Lady Lions of Largo used an 18-2 third quarter run to escape with the 3A South Region title, 57-43, over Great Mills Saturday at Wise High.
Despite the third quarter offensive drought, the Hornets matched Largo’s level of play, even outscoring the Lions 9-12 in the second quarter and 14-11 in the fourth. “I thought we played a great game,” Hornets Head Coach
Brian Weisner said. “It was just the third quarter, we had good shots, we had good looks, we just weren’t able to knock them down.” “We came out strong and intense but just coming into the second half we had a mental lapse,” forward Ashley Lindsey said. “They got a 10-0 run on us, we tried to turn it around into something positive but I guess See Lady Hornets page B-
Photo by Andrew Knowlton
Corleda Naylor of Great Mills fights for a loose ball with two Lion guards. The Hornets lost the game 57-43 and were eliminated from the playoffs.
McDowell Heads to NCAA Championships Since transferring from the University of Richmond to St. Mary’s College this past fall, Brie McDowell has pretty much rewritten the whole Seahawk women’s swimming record book. And she isn’t finished yet. McDowell left Wednesday to make the trip to Houston, TX, to compete in the 2007 NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming Championships hosted by the University of Houston. The NCAA Championships is a threeday event that will take place Mar. 8-11 and features 60 Division III institutions with over 200 competitors from across the nation. Entering the championships, McDowell is seeded third in the 100 backstroke, fourth in the 200 backstroke, and 10th in the 200 IM. The seeding is based on the swimmer’s fastest time of the year in each event. McDowell swam four NCAA qualifying times this season – two automatic (‘A’) cuts in the 100 and 200 backstroke and two provisional (‘B’) cuts in the 100 freestyle and 200 IM. McDowell has had nothing short of a remarkable season in her first year as a Seahawk and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. At the 2007 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Swimming Championships held Feb. 9-11, she was voted by the CAC coaches as the conference’s Female Swimmer of the Year after setting championship meet records in the 100 and 200 backstroke as well as the 200 IM. The sophomore was named St. Mary’s See McDowell page B-