Green Hornet Girls Conclude Club League With Championship Games

By Amy Russell
Red Ostriches Dominate, Win 11-13 Title
The Red Ostriches achieved their great goal, winning the 11-13 Club Basketball championship on Sunday, March 6 when they topped the Green Machine, 18-4, at Severna Park Middle School. Going into the match up, the Red Ostriches had lost only one game all season, coincidentally, to the Green Machine by one point.

The Machine had only one loss under their belt as well, but the title game never delivered on its promise as the determined Red Ostriches ran off to an early lead and rode their smothering defense to the championship.
“The Green Machine is an excellent team,” said Red Coach James League. “But our plan today was just to play great defense, which we executed very well. We played a normal game with really good defense and just scored a few more points than they did,” he shared.
By halftime, the Ostriches were holding a commanding lead, 10-2, and they added six more unanswered points in the third quarter to stretch the margin to 14. In the final minutes of the game, the Machine finally found the mark but the outcome had long since been decided and the crown went to the Ostriches.
During the awards ceremony, the Red team named first-year player Karrie Weiss Defensive Player of the Game and Kaitlyn Preston was named Offensive Player of the Game.
“Karrie had never played basketball before and came in kind of scared, but she turned out to be one of our best defensive players, not just in tonight’s game but throughout the entire season,” said League. “Kaitlyn and Amy League were our leading scorers.”
Other players contributing to the team’s success were Erin Whitman and Kathryn Kissam, who held down the center position, while Sarah Martin stood tall to lead the team in blocks.
“Too-tall Taylor [Dearborn],” League said, “was the shortest player on the team, but made up for it with her enthusiasm.”
Kailey Campbell and Elizabeth Crowell were also major contributors to the team’s successful season.

Blue Lightning Strike Back To Win 8-10 Girls Crown
In an epic version of a Cinderella story, the Green Hornets Blue Lightning went 3-6-1 in the regular season before catching fire when it mattered most. The upstart Blue Lightning went on an unexpected 4-0 streak through the playoffs, culminating their title run with a 20-18 overtime win over Warren Heuer’s Green Hornets, who gave them their toughest fight of the playoffs.
As a seven seed, Brandee Haney’s team had a tough match-up in round one against the undefeated top seed, but perhaps to their own surprise they emerged victorious to advance.
“This team of girls is so great, they are always so happy and so positive, and such a team,” said head coach Brandee Haney. “When they went into the game, they just wanted to play and have a good time and that’s exactly what they did.”
With each playoff win, the team’s Cinderella story unfolded a little more as their excitement grew. “By the time we got to the championship game, it was like nothing could stop them because they wanted to be there so bad,” said Haney. “They were just so excited to get to play another game and they were having such a good time, they just won.”
From the beginning, the Blue Lightning proved they deserved a spot in the title game. The scoring went back and forth, but at one point the Lightning trailed by as many as six points. To their credit, they never hung their heads and fought back. Down by one with four seconds to go, Rachel Spilker was fouled and given two shots. She calmly sunk the first to send the game to overtime.
“Our girls aren’t very tall, but they’re quick and they play like a team,” said Haney. “I think what helps us is that we don’t have one or two girls who run the whole show, we have a cohesive system who work together and consider each other equal regardless of experience or skill level.”
Along with Spilker, point guard Hunter Chadwick was a leader on the team who was relied on for her smart ball-handling and overall solid play. Gabi Higgins, also a point guard, was another team player the group looked to for consistency. Lily Maddox came to be known as the “quiet contributor.” A forward, solid under the hoop, Maddox was one of the quietest girls who seemed to emerge from the woodwork at key times with huge plays.
Campbell Haney, one of the youngest players on the team with the biggest heart, and Bridget Meighan were two players who emerged throughout the course of the season. Elizabeth McCarthy was very fast, played excellent defense, with good ball coverage. Finally, the team looked to Sierra Mullen for excellent rebounding and Colleen Schrum, who was the most aggressive player, always full of energy.
“Our cheer was “together” before and after every game because we went by the philosophy that each of the players had their own role, were in everything together - win or lose,” shared Haney, who believed the team’s togetherness was something that carried them through the season, and ultimately to the championship.
“The entire season you could see their high-fives on the court. They worked hard to pick each other up… I’ve never been so proud of a group of girls, as a player or a coach,” said Haney before concluding, “This is the kind of win that these girls will carry with them for a long time and think back on and smile. To see them hugging and crying because they were so happy was awesome. That’s what youth sports is really about.”