Gaithersburg Authors Regional Championship Win
Gaithersburg became the 4A Regional Champs with their win over Whitman on Saturday.
Photo By: Paolo Galli / GamedayMD.com | VIEW GALLERY
Colleen Marshall had 12 points and 8 assists in the win.
Photo By: Paolo Galli / GamedayMD.com | VIEW GALLERY
Susan Russell scored a game high 17 points for the Vikings.
Photo By: Paolo Galli / GamedayMD.com | VIEW GALLERY
Written by: Marc Bastow
SILVER SPRING, MD - It wasn't very long after yesterday's 4A West regional girls final game between #4 seeded Gaithersburg (19-3) and #2 seeded Whitman when Gaithersburg High School guard Kara Marshall proclaimed the Lady Trojan's next goal: "Win the state championship."
Marshall and her teammates will get that opportunity beginning Thursday at UMBC after they authored a 53-41 win over the Lady Vikings in front of a big crowd at Blair High School.
Marshall and the rest of her teammates were coming off a huge semi-final win over Paint Branch earlier in the week, and if there were any concerns about a letdown after the win, Coach Adrian McDaniel put those to rest starting right away at the next practice.
"We had two very good days of practice, and we know what we have to do, so I am not worried about it (a let down) at all," McDaniel said before the game.
While the Lady Trojans might've known what to do, they did not do it to start the game. Whitman jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead on the strength of senior Sarah Russell's 7 quick points.
Gaithersburg's three-guard offense featuring Colleen and Kara Marshall and Sarah Seipp appeared to be rushing their offense, forcing up shots and committing turnovers in the offense. McDaniel called a time out with just over 4 minutes remaining to settle his team and work a new strategy: pressure.
Gaithersburg started trapping the Whitman guards, and ran off the last 5 points of the quarter to tie the game at 9 at the end of the quarter. Gaithersburg's pressure was clearly giving Whitman difficulty, something Whitman coach Pete Kenah discussed after the game.
Gaithersburg extended their end of the first quarter run into the second quarter, as Seipp opened the scoring with a deep 3-pointer from the corner. Whitman continued to struggle against the pressure, committing turnovers on their first 3 possessions, and trailed 21-14 when Kenah used a time out to talk to his team with just under 6 minutes remaining in the half.
The Lady Vikings slowly climbed back into the game as Angelica Ceccone came off the bench to score 6 points over the last 5 minutes of the quarter, and they forged a 21-21 tie at the half.
During the half Coach McDaniel made a subtle shift for the second half that proved to be a critical element of the win. Gaithersburg's guards began to penetrate into the teeth of the Whitman defense and instead of pitching out for long 2 or 3-pointers, they began to feed their interior players, Aisha Ahmad, and Octavia Scott.
"That's our game plan," said McDaniel, '"our three guards can penetrate, that is the strength of our team, and they dish and the other players step up and take the shot."
The strategy worked immediately as Scott got a quick 4 points and Ahmad was fouled and made one of two shots for a quick 5-point spurt. On the defensive side of the ball Whitman was still having trouble, committing turnovers on their first three possessions.
Gaithersburg's 11-2 run to start the half pushed their lead to 32-23 before Kenah again spoke with his team during a timeout. In what was a game of runs, Whitman used a late 5-point spurt to climb within 38-32 going into the fourth quarter.
Russell (17 points) opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 38-35, but Kara Marshall was fouled, making one of two shots, and a fabulous dish to Ahmad off a spin-dribble penetration by Colleen Marshall increased the lead.
On their next possession Gaithersburg got another clutch basket, this time by Brittany Carroll off another drive by Marshall stretching the lead to 44-38 with just under 5 minutes to go. With Gaithersburg's quick guards controlling the perimeter, eventually the Lady Vikings were forced to foul.
Gaithersburg converted 8 out of their last 10 free throws to keep Whitman at bay, and despite some last minute heroics from senior Kat Barth and Angelica Ceccone (11 points), Whitman could not get closer than 6 points the rest of the game.
"It all starts at the top (with our guards), but Aisha and Octavia did a great job of finishing after the dish," said McDaniel after the game. "We know what we needed to do, and we did it," added Colleen Marshall.
For Whitman, it was the end of an exhilarating run that really started at the end of last year's disappointing season. Russell (Bates College) and rest of the senior class will move on, and Coach Pete Kenah was as disappointed as his team, but grateful to his seniors and their effort.
"We had trouble handling their press. We were up 11-6 but got stuck on 11 because of their defense. That gave them a lot of momentum on offense. We are going to miss the seniors so much. They've been a part of so much success."
Gaithersburg will now move on to the Maryland State Semifinal round on Thursday, March 11 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. As Kara Marshall said, the goal now is simple: State Championship.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
Gaithersburg:
Colleen Marshall, 12 points, 8 assists
Sarah Seipp, 14 points,
Aisha Ahmad, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
Whitman:
Susan Russell, 17 points
Angelica Ceccone, 11 points
THE GAME CHANGED WHEN:
The second half started with an 11-2 run for Gaithersburg, and Whitman could not come back.
NEXT GAME:
Whitman: Season complete
Gaithersburg: At UMBC-Maryland State Semifinals
Time: 3:00 PM, March 11th
