On Friday night, RM’s girls varsity basketball team beat Bethesda Chevy-Chase at home 44-42. The match proved to be a strenuous battle of mental strength and control as both teams were tied at the same number of wins coming into the game. The Rockets held off the Barons long enough to improve to a 9-3 record, securing the 5th spot in the county rankings.
Tip-off commenced a call-and-response dynamic that would bring the score neck-and-neck for the entire night. Both teams took to fouling early on, but RM used this to their advantage as junior Karon Williams was sent to the line to pull the Rockets ahead. “We knew we needed to play aggressively to beat them,” explained junior Melanie Osborne after the Barons would be granted their bonus minutes before the half.
The Barons fought hard through the first quarter by pressing and making it difficult for the Rockets on their inbounding plays. Fortunately, RM pushed on, utilizing give-and-go passes to cut through the paint and put up shots. Center Nusaibah Rashad stood under the basket, waiting for the pass before she threw the ball up. Osborne flaunted her quick handling skills as she spun around the defense before pulling up into a jump shot. By the end of the quarter, the Rockets doubled the Barons at 14-7, but they sought a more convincing lead.
The second quarter brought success for BCC’s guards once they started taking shots from behind the three-point line. The Rockets were quick to crack down on the issue as their aggressive man-on-man set up expanded to accommodate the Baron’s accuracy from a distance. “We knew they had some outside shooters, so we had planned to play tough defense on them,” mentioned Osborne.
The Barons continued to close the scoring gap up until the half. One of BCC’s players, Caitlyn Clenedin, performed powerfully at post and provided ample challenge for the Rockets. Still, the Barons’ offensive efforts did not go unanswered. RM maintained their lead ever so slightly with the help of senior Mackenzie Harwood, who intercepted the ball suddenly and crossed the court to finish with a lay-up. BCC edged on once their bonus gave them extra free-throw opportunities at the line. The score at the half was 23-21.
BCC earned a taste of the lead in the next quarter after scoring a three-pointer, but Osborne responded with one of her own on the next possession. The Rockets rotated in junior Chloe Sherman, who snatched some critical rebounds and forced some jump balls. An unforeseen interception by the Barons caused an increase in tension, in addition to some questionable traveling calls by the referees. Williams knew how to keep her team in check when she slowed down the pace of the action before calling a play.
With one quarter left to play, BCC only trailed by a basket as the score settled at 34-32. Even though the Barons were able to tie it up a minute later, the Rockets still had plenty to offer. Williams took off on an unstoppable rally, matching all of BCC’s endeavors with shots of her own. In the next few minutes, she scored a total of 9 points, which proved to be crucial as the opponent followed closely behind.
The Rockets called a timeout with four minutes left on the clock in attempt to calm things down. Once they took the court again, the chaos persisted as the turnover frequency for both teams was high. After a close encounter with the shot-clock, BCC recovered and earned another two points closer to the Rockets. Osborne made both of her free-throws to pull RM above 44-42. With merely seconds left in the game, the Barons had lined up a winning buzzer-beater beyond the arc but could not get the shot off in time.
The gym erupted in celebration as the girls were able to hold on against their evenly-matched opponent. The master game plan that brought the team to victory may have actually been the lack of one. “Our strategy was to really just play basketball. We were just told to play hard,” expressed Sherman.
The girls hope to build onto their record next Thursday as they travel to Einstein to face off with the Titans, who have yet to win a game this season.
