Quince Orchard girls hoops overcomes big deficit to down Wootton

‘‘Playoff nerves kicked in big time,” Price said. ‘‘But about the third quarter I started to calm down a little bit and started having fun. I realized someone was going to have to step it up if we were going to win. And I decided [Wednesday] it was going to have to be me. Everyone did their part though, we all have our roles.”

Price's ability to take charge late Wednesday exemplified what's made Quince Orchard (19-5) so strong this year. The Cougars aren't flashy and they're not driven by star power. Rather they're driven by an extremely balanced attack where on any given night any one of five or six players can put up big numbers.

That parity was evident once the Cougars final got on the scoreboard Wednesday - they didn't score until nearly six minutes into the first quarter and had trouble putting the ball in the basket the entire first half. But five players ended up with at least six points - Price, senior Vicky Lisle (11 points), junior Jessica Kramer (9), senior Grace Wallerstedt (8) and junior Veronica Kresse (6).

‘‘We went into [Wednesday's] game wanting to take [Wootton leading scorer] Becca Feldman out of it, even though she had a great game anyway,” Quince Orchard coach Dennis Drown said. ‘‘But with us, it's like, who are you going to concentrate on? We have so much balance. If Grace's shots aren't falling, we don't feel pressure. Maggie's a great shooter. She was rushing early. But thank God she showed up when she did.”

Behind Feldman's all-court prowess - she scored 20 points, 12 from the free-throw line - Wootton (18-5) took control of Wednesday's contest immediately. The Patriots played aggressively, but within themselves, to earn an 11-4, first-quarter lead. And they pressured Quince Orchard into an abundance of mistakes early. The Cougars struggled to match Wootton's intensity and trailed 17-10 at halftime.

But momentum is a fickle thing, and it flipped in the third quarter. After a good talk from Drown the Cougars took the court for the third quarter much more poised. And as they started to play better - smarter shot selection, crisper passes - Wootton unraveled.

‘‘Basketball is a game of peaks and valleys,” Drown said. ‘‘You've got to minimize the valleys and take advantage of the peaks. Timing is everything. You hit a good shot, you go on a run, you have the momentum.”

Wednesday was Wootton's second straight regional semifinal loss. Though disappointed, the Patriots are able to reflect on their second consecutive 18-win season, back-to-back Montgomery 4A West Division titles and their steady five-year climb to the upper echelon of county basketball.

‘‘I think we surprised a lot of people,” Wootton coach Maggie Dyer said. ‘‘Back-to-back division titles, especially in the 4A West, which is probably the toughest in the county, speaks volumes of these girls and the program. We've come so far. We were 3-21 five years ago. We've climbed our way to the top and have stayed there for two years. We're disappointed not to play in the regional final, but you have to focus on the positive and keep fighting.”