FREDERICK, Md. – Williamsport’s girls basketball team prides itself on going as far as the defense will carry it.
The lift ended on Tuesday at Thomas Johnson High School.
Lanky Glenelg worked the ball and crashed the backboards to take away the Wildcats’ bread-and-butter weapon to carve out a 49-32 victory in the Class 2A state semifinals.
The Gladiators knocked off the third-seeded Wildcats to advance to Thursday’s state championship against Pikesville at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County.
Glenelg used its size and some swarming defense of its own to control the Wildcats. It worked the ball to find open shots in the first half while the defense kept Williamsport from even starting its offense on numerous occasions.
Defense has been Williamsport’s trademark over the years under coach Kevin Murphy. The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals by allowing just 55 points – a 27.5-point average – in their first two playoff wins to get to the semifinals.
Glenelg had 28 by the 5:19 mark of the third quarter.
The Gladiators’ Stephanie Bunker led all scorers with 26 points, including four of the team’s 6 three-pointers, to loosen up Williamsport’s hold.
Glenelg used an 11-0 run in the first quarter to take a 14-2 lead over Williamsport. McKenna Murphy scored from along the baseline in the final seconds to make it a 14-4 game after one quarter.
Williamsport went scoreless for the first 7:44.5 of the second quarter until getting a three-pointer from McKenna Murphy with :15.5 and a layup by Ka’Maya Boyce with 3.4 left to trail 20-9 at the intermission.
Glenelg put Williamsport away in the third quarter with 13-2 run in the first 6:25 of the period for a 33-11 led. The Gladiators led 40-15 after three quarters.
Williamsport rallied in the fourth quarter after Glenelg relaxed its pressure rally back. The Wildcats scored the first seven points of the final period to cut the deficit to 40-22, but the teams played even the rest of the way to cap the 17-point win.
Bunker scored 19 points in the second half – 10 in the third quarter and nine in the fourth – to help Glenelg ice the game.
Boyce led Williamsport with seven points, while Rileigh Cole had six and Murphy added five.
Williamsport ends the season with a 21-5 record. For the season, the Wildcats averaged 49 points per game while allowing 34.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Shepherd Climbs to sixth in NCBWA Regional Poll
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Shepherd University (12-4) climbed to sixth place in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Poll for March 9.
The Rams went 3-1 last week.
Seton Hall (8-3) remained No. 1, but only received six of 10 first-place votes. West Chester was second, while Millersville sits in third, with each receiving first-place votes.
Frostburg State is seventh in the poll while Shippensburg is eighth in the top 10.
