Blake girls beat Q. Orchard for regional title

Blake 65, Quince Orchard 52

Yet, as the game passed the 10-minute mark, the Cougars were not playing the part of pushover, playing tough on the defensive end, and making the most of opportunistic points. But Blake senior guard Danielle Luckett had enough and asserted herself, forcing four turnovers in the span of two minutes, including one in the final seconds of the first half that she converted for two points at the buzzer.

Luckett scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the first half, giving the Bengals a much-needed push as they rolled to a 65-52 win in Silver Spring. Blake advances to play Eleanor Roosevelt in a 4A state semifinal Thursday at 5 p.m. on the campus of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

‘‘We knew we were going to win this game,” Luckett said. ‘‘This is our time. We had a lot of confidence that we would come through.”

Blake (22-3 overall) came through not just from Luckett’s heroics in the first half, but because of Danielle Douglas’ play in the second. The junior switched gears after halftime, scoring 11 of her 16 points on quick drives to the basket. Contending with both players was too much for the Cougars, who struggled to slow Blake down.

‘‘We wanted to keep playing an up-tempo game,” Douglas said. ‘‘We wanted to keep pressing them. That’s the way we know how to play.”

The Bengals also benefited from balance up and down the rest of its roster. Sophomore guard Christine Weithman scored 10 points, extending the Cougars’ defense with a pair of 3-pointers, and forwards Amber Dyer and Angie Domingo scored nine and seven points, respectively. Blake put 11 players on the floor in the course of the game.

‘‘Our depth has really helped us,” Blake coach Patti Gilmore said. ‘‘It has allowed us to be balanced at times, and in a game like this, it was huge. They set a goal to return to the state championship, and they were so focused.”

For Quince Orchard (19-6), the end came swiftly, and at the final buzzer all that was left were tears and post-game cupcakes.

‘‘Blake was the better team today,” Quince Orchard coach Dennis Drown said. ‘‘But, as we told the seniors after the game, the goal is always leave something better than you found it. I think those five can say that, though we will miss them.”

However, juniors Jessica Kramer (12 points) and Veronica Kresse (seven points) return, as will players that make up a junior varsity squad that won 17 of 19 games this season. A foundation has been laid.

Blake has something more immediate to look forward to: a rematch with Roosevelt, the three-time defending state champion that beat it in last year’s final. Luckett is looking forward to the opportunity to settle the score.

‘‘It’s definitely a motivation because we have a little grudge that needs to be settled,” she said. ‘‘We know that they are a good team, but we are going to play our game. We are going to play harder than we ever have before.”