Chaos took the reins on Severna Park’s court in the fourth quarter: the ball flying around everywhere like debris, Falcons bodying South River counterparts to the floor and vice versa, shrieks raining down from the benches, the crowds, even on the floor.
The Severna Park girls drilled for that kind of intensity Saturday, so that when rough weather came, they’d be able to ride the storm. They fought off the Seahawks, 49-39, tarnishing the former county leaders’ perfect Anne Arundel record.
“We were just resilient tonight,” Falcons coach Kris Dean said. “I didn’t think we played a great second half, which is credit to South River changing some things up. But it came down to mental toughness with this group — hanging in there, working hard.”
The Seahawks (17-2) now sit uncomfortably beside Severna Park (18-2) and Broadneck in the county standings, all with one loss and all 1-1 against each other in designated conference games. However, a second Severna Park loss to Broadneck in December in a nonconference game stands as the tiebreaker to keep the Falcons out of the county championship.
But the county championship is a nice thought to the Falcons. What really snapped a smile onto their faces was the prospect of meeting South River again in the Class 3A East Region I finals.
“The three of us are so equal, and it’s hard to beat a team twice,” said senior Ryn Feemster, who scored 15 points Monday, “but I know with our team, we can definitely do it.”
Granted, Severna Park didn’t have the best first quarter. Junior Karlee Hawkins spurred the early attacks, resulting in a 11-4 advantage the Seahawks didn’t seem keen on stopping at.
But rolling out an offensive strike first never really was Severna Park’s MO.
After graduating most of its frontcourt, Severna Park had to pour genuine work into shaping its defense back into the athletic, physical type that led it to the state semifinal last winter.
All that hard work held the Falcons up on its shoulders even when the shots weren’t falling so that, when they finally did, they’d sting South River that much more. Severna Park edged off screens and flooded the zone, transforming the floor into sticky mud the Seahawks struggled to wade through.
The Falcons defense took an axe to South River’s run and shut the gap to a single point, 11-10.
And then, senior forward Sally Trent (11 points) took the stage.
“We were down. I just wanted to give the team a little kick,” Trent said. “A little jumpstart.”
The first of two 3-pointers sailed from Trent’s hands the moment the second quarter whistle trilled. Severna Park never surrendered the lead again.
Trent and Feemster took turns greeting the net while helping the Falcons defense unnerve the Seahawks into turnover after turnover. Trent’s second trey bumped the lead to 10, 21-11.
“We settled down and started doing what we should be doing. I thought we had a really good second quarter,” Dean said.
After South River’s Adriana Kane temporarily halted a 12-0 Falcon run, senior Gabby Rosati perched at the perimeter and popped another Falcons 3-pointer before Trent scooped up a putback to seal the halftime score at 26-13.
“I didn’t look at the scoreboard,” Feemster said. “I just kept playing the way I always played. If I knew we were winning, I might let off a little — and with South River, you can never do that.”
The Falcons remained unflappable into the third quarter. third, the Falcons remained unflappable. “]Skylar Woodyard punched a ball down just for Maria Bragg to scoop it up and sink three points and a 30-13 lead . The Seahawks pressed the Falcons’ shooters back and turned the tide for six straight points.
But even in pockets where Severna Park’s offense fizzled, the Falcons could fall back on a tried and true asset South River couldn’t compare: size.
Severna Park battled for boards an drew fouls. Slowing the tempo down allowed the Falcons to hold on to the reins at 39-26 after three.
But Hawkins was just stretching.
The Seahawks junior practically etched her initials into the scoreboard as she journeyed back to the net over and over, slashing the double-digit gap to a one-possession game.
Despite playing with four fouls, Hawkins surged into the fray ceaselessly, joined by Maggie Grove, who ended up fouling out with the Falcons up 43-38.
In the mayhem, Feemster mentally checked off her goals for the fourth quarter.
“Keep the ball strong. Make sure you don’t lose the ball in fouls. Keep a calm mental state,” she said.
With two minutes left, the ball hardly ever flowed South River’s way again. Severna Park secured the foul line trips it needed before pouring onto the floor to celebrate its victory.
“It’s really nice knowing we can upset the first seed,” Feemster said.