Rockville girls look to make a racket in 2A West hoops bracket

Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008

Rockville girls look to make a racket in 2A West hoops bracket

by John Y. Wehmueller | Staff Writer

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The three representatives of Montgomery County are all crammed into the bottom half of the Class 2A West Region draw, and one is certain to fall in the first round, when seventh-seeded Northwood (2-15) hosts No. 10 Clarksburg (9-11).

Clarksburg, in fact, could potentially reach the regional final by beating three teams it has already played this season, despite most of the field consisting of teams from Frederick, Carroll and Washington Counties. If they get past the Gladiators in the first round, the Coyotes would travel to second-seeded North Hagerstown (19-2), which won Clarksburg’s ‘‘Howl-a-Day Tournament” in December, beating the hosts, 53-41, in the championship game.

‘‘I know North Hagerstown is going to be tough,” Clarksburg coach Sissy Natoli said. ‘‘They won our holiday tournament, so we know what they’re capable of. ... We’ve played Northwood pretty good this season, but they’re an up-and-coming team.”

Whichever of those three teams reaches the regional semifinals might just meet Rockville (12-6) there. The third Montgomery County representative in the bracket missed out on a top-four seed and a first-round bye by a single game; instead, the Rams fell into the random draw and were tagged with the 11th seed in the 11-team field.

That means the Rams will be on the road throughout the playoffs, beginning in the first round against No. 6 South Hagerstown (0-20). But head coach Mark Crichton doesn’t expect the travel to bother his team, which had won four straight games heading into Tuesday’s regular-season finale against Richard Montgomery.

‘‘Our girls are playing well on the road and at home, so I don’t think it makes a difference to us,” Crichton said. ‘‘At this stage of the season, the girls are pretty confident in what we’re doing. Our fans are starting to travel with us a little bit. Hopefully, we’ll get a nice contingent on the bus with us.”

Regardless of the outcome, Rockville will finish with its best record since the 1999-2000 season, when it went 14-9 and reached the regional semifinals. If the Rams get past South Hagerstown, they will meet third-seeded Middletown (18-4), which knocked them out of the playoffs two years ago on the way to the 2006 state title. The Knights recently beat South Hagerstown, 88-9.

The winner of that quarterfinal will go into the semifinals against North Hagerstown, Clarksburg or Northwood. Clarksburg and Rockville split their two games this season, while both teams own a pair of wins over Northwood.