MPSSAA girls basketball playoffs: Three Washington County teams battle in region semis

Three Washington County girls basketball teams were in action Friday night in the MPSSAA region semifinals. Here’s what happened:

1A West Region II

South Carroll 62, Smithsburg 54

The No. 3-seeded Cavaliers (17-7) pulled away for good down the stretch, topping the No. 2 Leopards (15-8) to advance to the region final.

After Smithsburg’s Jill Malott hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50-50 with 6:25 remaining, the Leopards, whose only lead was early in the first quarter, were outscored 12-4 the rest of the way.

“It was an up-and-down game,” Leopards coach Todd Bono said. “They made runs, and we answered. They just had more shots fall at the end. They banked in two 3s.”

Kendall Curtin and Harley McKee each scored 19 points for South Carroll, which led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter, 29-26 at halftime and 46-42 entering the final period.

“It’s a tough matchup,” Bono said. “They’re just so physical, so strong, and they finish a little bit better at the rim.

“I’m really proud of our girls. It was a great effort. We battled. We improved from the last time we played them (a 39-28 loss on Feb. 14). We couldn’t score at all. Their defense is tough. They’re so aggressive. We did a better job offensively. We just have to do a better job rebounding and getting back in transition. They got a lot of good looks in transition. But I’m super proud of the kids.”

Skyla Mastronardi, a sophomore, led the Leopards with 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Claire Bono, a freshman, added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Molly Weaver, a junior, had eight points and seven rebounds, and Malott, a freshman, finished with seven points and four assists.

“We have one senior, so we’re looking forward to the future,” Todd Bono said. “I have complete confidence that we’ll be back here again next year.”

Catoctin 46, Boonsboro 35

The No. 4-seeded Warriors, last year’s region champions, fell on the road to the No. 1 Cougars.

Haylee Hartman led Boonsboro with 15 points and eight rebounds.

2A West Region I

Middletown 45, Williamsport 41

The No. 3-seeded Knights (12-9) won the rubber match on the road against the No. 2 Wildcats (15-8), starting the second half with a 13-0 run to erase a 22-17 halftime deficit and never trailing again.

"The start of the third quarter, we told them we wanted to come out strong in the first three minutes, but I thought (Middletown's) energy was much better than our energy and they jumped on us pretty good," said Williamsport coach Kevin Murphy.

The teams split their two regular-season meetings.

Talia Jenkins led Middletown with 16 points, seven coming in the fourth quarter. Alexis Parker scored 12 points, including seven in the third quarter, and Kaylee Franklin added 11 points.

"Both Jenkins and Franklin, they just wanted to win," Murphy said. "Hustle plays, rebounds, time and time again they just wanted it more than we did."

MacKenzie Kloos scored nine points, all in the second half, Arisa Hardy netted eight points, Rileigh Cole had seven points, 13 rebounds and three steals, and Emerson Shank added five assist for the Wildcats.

"I give our kids a lot of credit because they kept fighting back, didn't give in," Murphy said.

Middletown opened the game with a 15-2 run.

"I thought we were extremely nervous to start the game," Murphy said. "We lost a lot of kids from last year's (state semifinal) team, four starters. We're playing a lot of young kids, it's their first playoff game and I think there were a lot of nerves. Once we settled in we were fine."

Williamsport answered with a 20-2 run of its own to go into halftime with the lead.

Wednesday, Feb. 28

1A West Region II quarterfinals

Boonsboro 61, Liberty 56

Haylee Hartman went off for 36 points and 10 rebounds, powering the No. 4-seeded and host Warriors (12-11) past the No. 5-seeded Lions (8-13).

Boonsboro will travel to face No. 1-seeded Catoctin (18-2) in the region semifinals Friday at 6 p.m.

Class 1A West Region I quarterfinals

Northern Garrett 49, Clear Spring 40

The No. 4-seeded and host Huskies (14-7) got past the No. 5-seeded Blazers (7-16).

Kara Hoover led Clear Spring with 15 points.

Mountain Ridge 71, Hancock 16

The No. 2-seeded and host Miners (19-2) eliminated the No. 7-seeded Panthers (1-20).

Skylar Smith scored nine points to lead Hancock.

3A West Region quarterfinals

Westminster 49, North Hagerstown 30

The No. 3-seeded and host Owls (16-5) pulled away from the No. 6-seeded Hubs (4-17).

Keyani Saunders led North with nine points. Brooke McAfee added six points.

Linganore 72, South Hagerstown 9

The No. 2-seeded and host Lancers (17-4) eliminated the No. 7-seeded Rebels (1-19).

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: MPSSAA girls basketball playoffs: Washington County roundup