This story was corrected on Jan. 24. An explanation of the correction follows the story.

After her team bounced back from last Thursday's loss to Suitland by beating defending Prince George's County 4A League champion Bowie on Tuesday, Charles H. Flowers High School girls basketball coach Patrice Frazier quickly described her team in three words: all or nothing.

Flowers (9-2 overall, 7-2 in the County 4A league) overcame a horrific first quarter to earn a 61-49 victory on Tuesday night in Springdale. Bowie scored the last 14 points of the first quarter to claim a 19-8 lead. But the Jaguars outscored the Bulldogs in each of the next three quarters. Flowers junior guard Kyah Proctor (22 points) scored nine straight points in the fourth quarter to break a 48-48 tie with a little more than 4 minutes remaining, and junior center Bianca Brown added 16 points to lead the Jaguars past the Bulldogs in the only meeting between the two squads this season. They could very well face one another again in the 4A South Region playoffs, perhaps as the late as the region semifinals.

“It's something I told the girls — we're all or nothing,” said Frazier, whose team will face Bladensburg on Friday. “We're either very high, like we were tonight and last week at Roosevelt or we're very low. I think the kids just knew they had to play with a lot more intensity tonight. They didn't start the game too well, but after we made some adjustments to take away some of their girls inside we were able to settle down and run our offense.

Proctor, the team's leading scorer (17.4 points per game), scored only six points in the first half and the Jaguars found themselves trailing, 30-25. But midway through the third quarter Lennee Kimbell and Proctor sparked a Jaguars' rally with their perimeter shooting and the hosts took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter. Then midway through the final frame Proctor scored nine straight points to give the Jaguars a comfortable 57-48 lead with 1:39 remaining.

“Kyah had a great second half,” Frazier said. “She really shot the ball well. Bianca was really solid inside. She got defensive and offensive rebounds and she scored some easy buckets inside.”

“I just felt like I needed to do more for my team,” Proctor said. “We started the game slow and we were down at halftime, but we played with a lot more intensity in the second half. Bianca played great inside. We were able to get some easy baskets in transition. It was a good win for us. We definitely think that we can win [the region] championship.”

Bowie coach Michael Hines needed several minutes to regain his composure after the game ended. There were a series of hard fouls on both ends of the floor, and the referees halted the game with 15.8 seconds remaining after Flowers junior guard Charnell Ferguson and Bowie sophomore guard McKenzi Bess engaged in a scuffle in front of the Bulldogs' bench.

“That was just unacceptable,” said Hines, whose team is 8-3 overall and 7-2 in the league. “The officials just let the game get out of control. They just didn't take control of the game early. But the bottom line is my girls just didn't come to play. They were not mentally focused. We started the game quickly, but after that we just didn't play well. We have a lot of work to do. Physically, we're fine but mentally we have to be better prepared.”

Bowie's highlights were primarily limited to the first quarter. After watching the Jaguars gain a modest 8-5 lead, Bowie closed out the period on a 14-0 run, getting eight points from Tyra Durrett. After Brown scored two baskets for Flowers, the hosts went the last five minutes of the opening period without a field goal and committed five turnovers in their last seven possessions.

tblack@gazette.net

Flowers 61, Bowie 49

Bowie 19 11 11 8 — 49

Flowers 8 17 17 19 — 61

Bowie (8-3, 7-2): Nia Clark 7, McKenzi Bess 6, Tyra Durrett 12, Amara Jackson 7, Morgan Newbold 3, Alexis Newbold 3, Marshauna Butler 6, Nicole Derrickson 5.

Flowers (9-2, 7-2): Kyah Proctor 22, Bianca Brown 16, Linnee Kimbell 13, Charnell Ferguson 3, Cheina Thomspon 4, Cierra Simms 3.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Charnell Ferguson of Flowers shoved Bowie's McKenzi Bess, prompting referees to prematurely end the game.