Last Friday, the Richard Montgomery girls basketball team expanded their undefeated record to 9-0 after a competitive match-up against Gaithersburg. The Trojans’ honorable 7-1 standing marked them as a fierce opponent leading up to the game, but it was clear at tip-off that the Rockets would pull off a convincing victory.

RM found its momentum quickly. Despite Gaithersburg’s tight man-to-man coverage, the Rockets used their speed to cut for open passes around the basket. Freshman Ellie Tounkara had no trouble driving through the Trojan defense to put up shots, while senior center Nusaibah Rashad snatched rebounds with ease to keep possession.

The Rockets ran away with the lead, but struggled with avoiding fouls on their defensive end. They compensated with an assertive full-court press effectively forced turnovers, yet quickly drained the RM starters. Fortunately, the team’s ensuing success allowed for some younger talent to cycle into the game later on.

The Rockets put up big numbers both under the basket and around the key, which brought them to an astonishing 34 points next to Gaithersburg’s 14 at the end of the first quarter. Striking early, as opposed to waiting until a nail-biting fourth quarter, helped RM keep their poise for the remainder of the evening. “We never want it to be a close game, we just want to dominate from the start,” said senior guard Deedee Yan.

The second quarter brought more problems for Gaithersburg. On top of fouls, the Trojans racked up shot-clock violations, traveling calls and offensive charges. Although Gaithersburg doubled their points this quarter, the Rockets remained far ahead at the half, with a score of 53-28.

RM continued to keep the Trojans at bay for the remainder of the night. Senior forward Melanie Osborne lead the offense with 26 points. Senior Karon Williams, known as a “Point-God” among her teammates, forced turnovers with her quick speed in addition to some baskets of her own.  

As the game came to close, the Rockets took the opportunity to rotate some of their other players in. “All of the girls are working equally hard at practice, so we wanted to reward that,” commented Coach Oakes. RM sealed the victory 70-52.

Richard Montgomery’s series of successes has placed them in well into the Washington Post’s rankings. They currently sit at the 12th spot across the whole metropolitan area. RM’s next game is away against the 3-4 Northwest Jaguars this Tuesday.

Feature photo by Lifetouch