Fight For It: Severna Park’s Christine Leidner and Broadneck’s Kendall Salvas scrap for a loose ball while Paige Briganti surveys the scene during a gritty first half that left the two teams tied at 24 going into the locker room. The second half was all Broadneck, as the Bruins jumped out to a 46-30 lead after three and never looked back, taking the 57- 40 win. Photos by Colin A.J. Murphy

By Colin A.J. Murphy

After seeing a late fourth-quarter lead slip away in a 51-46 overtime loss to county-leading Meade on January 25, the Broadneck girls basketball team bounced back with a 57-40 road victory over archrival Severna Park on January 28. Kameron Ward had 17 points to lead all scorers, Kimber Salvas had 10 points and nine rebounds, Abby Meehan had 11 points and five steals, and the Bruins used a 22-6 third-quarter run to zoom past the Falcons and remain in contention for the county title. The following week, Broadneck posted wins over North County and Arundel, and as of February 5 the Bruins (10-3) trail only Meade (11-1), Annapolis (11-2), and South River (10-2) in the county. Broadneck will have a chance to avenge two of their prior losses when they host the Seahawks on February 10 and visit the Panthers on February 17. Head Coach Erin Thorne attributed the victory over Severna Park to a halftime switch in defensive tactics and the girls’ determination in the second half to get the job done.

“[The coaches] basically challenged them at halftime: ‘Make it or break it, what do you want to do? You control your destiny in the second half.’” said Thorne. “And they responded to that challenge.”

Severna Park saw fine first-half play from their entire squad in playing Broadneck to a 24-24 halftime tie, but the Bruins’ switch from man to zone defense stymied the Falcon attack as Broadneck steadily pulled away in the third and fourth quarters.

“We came out and did a great job in the first half,” said Severna Park Head Coach Carrie Weimer. “In the second half they made adjustments, and we didn’t make the adjustments we needed to. We got good shots [against their zone], but they just weren’t falling.” Rachel Vander Kolk and Claire Hanratty each had 13 points for Severna Park in the loss.

In what proved to be the decisive third quarter, the Bruins came out of the locker room determined to use their size advantage down low. Senior Dinah Jones finished layups from deep post position on Broadneck’s first two possessions of the period, giving the Bruins a 28-24 edge. Leading 30-26 moments later, Meehan three times intercepted Falcon passes and went coast-to-coast for the layup on each occasion, part of a 10-0 run that also featured put-back finishes in close from Salvas and Dallas Jasper.

“We came out ready to play offensively and defensively [in the second half],” said Salvas. “We knew we were bigger than them, so we just had to use our post to our advantage.”

A Severna Park timeout and subsequent basket by Lauren Giblin gave the Falcons hope of stemming the tide, but baskets by Jasper, Ward, and Destiny Spears and a period-closing block by Jasper amounted to a 46-30 Broadneck lead after three.

“We preach all season that our defense will create our offense, and they definitely did that tonight,” said Thorne, citing the steals by Meehan and the disruptive length of Salvas and Jones.

Severna Park couldn’t manage to chip away at the lead in the fourth quarter, and Broadneck got back on the county track with a quality win against their nearby rival.

“It’s always such a good feeling [to beat Severna Park] because everyone takes this game especially seriously,” said Meehan of the intense rivalry between the two schools.

The Falcons, meanwhile, played a half of crisp, fluid basketball against one of the county’s best team, and will look to build on the experience going forward. “I know the girls are down with the loss,” said Weimer, “but we’ll go back to work Monday and get ready for next week.”

Abby Meehan’s five steals, including three that resulted in layups during a two-minute stretch of the third quarter, helped power the Bruins to a 57-40 victory over Severna Park on January 28.

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