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As the ball left Rockville senior guard Jenn Cordero's hand and the final buzzer sounded in Friday's clash between the Rams and Watkins Mill girls basketball teams, there was an gasp followed by silence as the shot reached its destiny
Nothing but net. Rockville's 48, Watkins Mill 47.
"Everyone kind of held their breath for a minute and the shot was kind of in slow motion," Rams coach Mark Crichton said. "That was a big shot. Jenn was out of school sick yesterday; she didn't practice. She didn't start; she had a headache. … For her to knock down a shot like that, that's the kind of stuff you [like to see] from a senior."
The Rams (5-11, 1-9 Montgomery 3A/2A/1A West) erased a 13-point deficit Friday to win their first division game of 2008-09 and avenge a 44-41 loss to the Wolverines (5-11, 2-8 in 3A/2A/1A West) in the teams' previous meeting.
Sizewise, Friday's duel was a complete mismatch. The Wolverines, led by 6-foot-4 freshman Lanay Montgomery (team-high 17 points), are bigger, stronger and more athletic than the Rams.
"Watkins Mill is a very dangerous team," Crichton said. "There was no way we could play man-to-man the whole game. We just couldn't match up."
The Wolverines, led by Montgomery, Jazmine McRoy (13) and Jartu Toweh (9) imposed themselves with a 16-9, second-quarter run to take a 24-17 lead at the half.
They led by 13 with just four minutes left in regulation, but Rockville strategically fouled and the Wolverines couldn't capitalize; Watkins Mill was 1 for 7 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Meghan Tilghman led the Rams in scoring Friday with 17 points and Sara Sousa added 14.
"Until you're actually in game where you're down and make the plays to get possession and come back, you just kind of think you're going through the motions to delay the inevitable," Crichton said. "Now they know we're doing these things for a reason."
Rockville boys complete sweep
After letting Watkins Mill close a 12-point, fourth-quarter gap to seven, Rockville clamped down on defense en route to a 72-64 win.
"We're comfortable with a game on the line," Rams coach G.J. Kissal said. "But we've got to make it interesting every time. I felt like we had an Atlantic Ocean-sized margin to work with that we just needed to hold them off for a little longer."
The Rams (8-8, 4-4) weren't satisfied with their performance in a home loss to Watkins Mill (5-12, 2-7) earlier this season, but rebounded nicely. They boasted a versatile attack with 6-foot-6 sophomore DeAndre Kelly (20 points), 6-4 junior Zach Ogunsolu (8) and plenty of perimeter shooting from Ben Kane (15), Paul Rosiak (7) and Wayne Jackson (7).
After missing four of his first seven free-throw attempts, Watkins Mill senior guard Preston Carmon, who scored 25 of his game-high 32 points in the second half, converted 7-of-9 foul shots in the fourth quarter to help Watkins Mill claw its way back into Friday's contest.
David Dolan added 11 points and Olessian Morgan put up eight.
"I finally feel like we've put a couple complete games together now," Kissal said. "Early in the season we were winning but didn't feel like we were playing complete games. But [Friday] I feel like we imposed ourselves the entire game."
