Park Girls Coming On Strong In New Year

Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 1:32 pm

Colin Murphy

The Severna Park girls are tearing it up in 2018.

After beginning the season 3-5 overall, the Falcons are 8-2 in the new year and are up to 11-7 overall through January 31.

Wins over Glen Burnie and Annapolis in the first week of January were promising bellwethers, but the following week presented tougher challenges in Chesapeake and rival Broadneck.

The Falcons were up to the task. On January 9, the Falcons went to Chesapeake and defeated a strong Cougars team on its home floor, 49-38. Jessica Giblin led Severna Park with 16 points, while Jessica Albert contributed 15 points and six rebounds in the victory.

PHOTO GALLERY: Severna Park vs. Broadneck girls basketball, 1.12.18

Severna Park made it a 2-0 week three days later at home against Broadneck, employing superior depth and defensive intensity to out-hustle, out-rebound and fully outplay the visiting Bruins for a 43-25 win. Giblin led all scorers with 19 points and also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, and she all but put the game away with a sizzling stretch in the third quarter when she hit back-to-back 3-pointers before converting a fast-break layup that gave Severna Park a 14-point lead. Albert put up eight points, Rachel Ward had six points and Emily Summers had four points and four rebounds in the victory, while junior Rachel Spilker (six assists), sophomore Lena McLaughlin (eight rebounds, two steals, one block) and junior Julia Ryan (five rebounds, three assists) had impact games.

“It was a great team win over our rivals,” said Giblin. “We had the energy. We had early buckets from a lot of people. All five starters scored in the first quarter.”

The Falcons also limited Broadneck’s key players. The Bruins’ Maura Dawson was coming off three straight 20-plus rebound games — Dawson had 15 points and 20 rebounds in a win over North County, 17 points and 22 rebounds in a win over Southern, and three points and 21 rebounds in a win over Northeast — but the Falcons’ depth and defensive efforts held Dawson in check for just six points and five rebounds.

“We had talked about putting together four quarters, and tonight we did that,” said Severna Park head coach Kris Dean. “It was a good team win and good for our momentum, and we just have to keep it going.”

After a win over North County in which Giblin again led with 16 points, the Falcons continued their hot streak, led by the on-fire outside shooting of junior Rachel Ward. Ward drained seven 3-pointers and put up a game-high 24 points in Severna Park’s 62-41 win over Southern on January 19, then repeated her feat less than 24 hours later with another seven 3-pointers and a game-high 25 points in a 46-38 win over Severn on January 20, the Falcons’ seventh-straight win.

Severna Park came back down to earth with a 54-32 loss to Meade on January 23 and a 44-29 loss to Old Mill on January 30, but they defeated Arundel at home on Green Hornets night on January 26, with Giblin (12 points), Ward (eight points), Hailey Betch (six points, six rebounds) and Albert (six points) having strong games.

With playoffs right around the corner and a deep roster of contributors, the Falcons believe they have a shot against every team they face.

“A lot of people don’t think that Severna Park is going to be a good team, because we lost all five starters from last year, but we’re coming to win,” said Giblin. “I can tell you that right now. We’re ready. We’re a young team, and we’re building up, and we’re ready.”

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