COLLEGE PARK — As three-time defending champions, Pikesville girls basketball came to Saturday’s Class 1A state title game with a decided edge in experience along with much more size than Southern-Garrett.
The No. 9 Panthers put both assets to good use in the second half. Behind a smothering defensive effort and a three-minute stretch of championship-quality offense at the end of the third quarter, Pikesville found separation from the pesky Rams and pulled away for a 48-39 win at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center.
Bree Taylor scored a team-high 13 points and Mariah Jones-Bey and Darielle Weems added 12 as Pikesville (23-3) claimed the program’s fourth straight state title dating to the 2018-19 season. No title games were played the following two seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Tremendously proud. Just tremendously proud of these young ladies. They’re resiliency is just unmatched,” Pikesville coach Michael Dukes said. “They surprised me a lot. We might get on them a little hard in practice sometimes maybe not feeling like we’re seeing enough intensity and I think they look at us sometimes and are like, ‘Coach, relax. We’re good. We’re good.’ They really know how to turn the dial up.”
On Saturday, the Panthers did just that with a dominant third quarter followed by a poised fourth to seal the championship.
In particular, the Panthers played their best ball of the state tournament in the final 2:26 of the third quarter.
Leading 27-25, they closed with the quarter’s last nine points to take hold. Stops, rebounding and efficiency scoring in transition and at the rim proved big.
Jones-Bey accounted for six points in the run, as her driving layup with 35 seconds left provided the Panthers with their first double-digit lead at 46-25.
“During halftime I talked to my teammates because I was getting in my head a lot. They were hyping me up and it encouraged me and boosted my energy, so when we came back out I was more like me instead of doing things that was rushed,” said Jones-Bey, a sophomore guard. “So I was slowing down and I was playing smart, doing what they were telling me to and things went how I wanted them to.”
Southern, which got a game-high 17 points from Carly Wilt, pulled within 36-29 with 5:34 left in the game, but Pikesville quickly restored order.
The Panthers got two baskets from Taylor and two more from Weems to build the lead back up to 44-31 with 2:23 to play.
The Panthers outrebounded Southern by a 48-34 margin, getting 11 from Weems and 10 each from Jones-Bey and Aliyah Taylor. They forced 22 turnovers and limited the Rams to two points in the third quarter and 16 in the second half.
“The second half was probably night and day with our turnovers in the first half and not allowing us to get into any type of comfortable rhythm. So in the second half, we made really good adjustments,” said Dukes, whose Panthers stuck with a 2-3 zone throughout the second half.
The Panthers close another special season with 12 straight wins, capturing their second straight Baltimore County crown with a 75-44 victory over Loch Raven before claiming region and state crowns.
S-G — 16-7-2-14 — 39
P — 13-8-15-12 — 48
S-G — Wilt 17, Weaver 7, Parks 11, Ward 2, Martin 2
P — Jones-Bey 12, Weems 12, B. Taylor 13, Hill 4, A. Taylor 7
