Falcon Girls Claim Region Title In 3 OT Classic

Maddy Sullivan stepped to the foul line for her second free throw attempt, looking to extend Severna Park’s fragile lead deep into a third overtime period with a trip to the state quarterfinals at stake.

She missed.

But in the ensuing rebound scrum, the ball came right back to Sullivan. The senior forward grabbed it, steadied herself, and put her shot up while being fouled. The whistle went, the ball dropped through the net, and Sullivan, her teammates, coaches, and the Severna Park fans let out a massive collective roar.

After nearly 43 minutes of trading blows with South River, the Falcons sensed they had landed the knockout punch.

Sullivan’s stick-back gave Severna Park a two-score lead for the first time all night, and the Falcons saw out the final minute-plus for a 59-54 triple-overtime victory at South River on Wednesday, claiming the 3A East Region I championship and a berth in this weekend’s state quarterfinals.

“I didn’t want to throw up a bad shot at the end of the game. I’d been stressed, and we were talking about being composed,” said Sullivan. “I was just like, ‘Take your time. Concentrate.’ And coach always says to go through the square when I’m shooting, because sometimes I fade away. I went through the square, and it went in.”

The game was an instant classic for its momentum-swinging baskets, but it was in equal measure an old-fashioned street fight. The teams combined for 51 fouls and close to as many turnovers, with physical, aggressive defense that caused the offenses to succeed only in fits and starts.

The only times either side truly seized a measure of momentum was in the third quarter, when South River reeled off seven straight points, but Severna Park countered with 10 straight.

The fourth quarter featured a disjointed flow, almost by necessity, as the Falcons had three starters with four fouls: Ryn Feemster, their top scorer, Maria Bragg, their point guard, and Erin Hussey, one of their other chief ball handlers.

Running out of options, coach Kristofer Dean employed an offense-for-defense subbing policy involving those three to buy some time and stave off a fifth foul on defense, while still utilizing their scoring ability. Josie Crockett, Peyton Jeffers, Abby Cover, and Sullivan gave the team vital minutes and defensive effort.

“We knew that we were in big time trouble, so we knew we had to do something. We have some really good defenders on the bench, and we had to slow them down,” Dean said. “We’ve done that before, maybe not to the extent of three at a time, but we didn’t have much of a choice. The girls did a wonderful job coming off the bench, into the game, communicating what they needed to do. They saved our season.”

As the overtime periods piled up and the benches drew even shorter, the pressure continued to mount. That set the stage for Feemster, who had just one point when she picked up her fourth foul late in the third quarter.

She had 19 in the fourth quarter and three extra periods, willing the Falcons over the finish line.

“I was really worried that I would foul out. My mindset was first, not to foul, and two, just score,” Feemster said. “Going into the huddles, going into timeouts, we just needed to take a deep breath. I think that was the same thing for my team, coming together, just keeping our composure on and off the court during timeouts. Deep breath, stay calm, instead of rushing it and forcing passes that lead to turnovers.”

Feemster led the team to victory in the overtime periods, but even getting there was a collective effort where one weak link would have doomed the Falcons. Charley Coward and Sally Trent hit big shots to keep Severna Park within touching distance during the second and third quarters. Hussey and Bragg displayed active hands and turned steals into baskets.

Then, with Hussey and Bragg eventually fouling out, Feemster took over as both scorer and primary ballhandler, something she hasn’t done since her sophomore season. And Sullivan finally put the Seahawks away by scoring off her own free-throw miss.

Coward added 11 points for the Falcons, while Sullivan added eight. Trent and Bragg each added seven.

After the re-seed of region champions, Severna Park (22-2) is seeded second and has a home game in the state quarterfinals against seventh-seeded Oxon Hill (21-4). The game is scheduled for Saturday at 3:00pm.

Severna Park 59, South River 54, 3 OT

Severna Park    5    13   10   10   8    3    8    --59

South River     8    10   12   8    8    3    3    --54

SEVERNA PARK (59)

Hussey 2 0-2 4, Bragg 3 1-2 7, Sullivan 3 2-6 8, Coward 4 1-2 11, Cover 1 0-0 2, Feemster 5 10-13 20, Trent 3 0-0 7. Totals 21 14-25 59.

SOUTH RIVER (54)

S. Woodyard 3 1-5 9, L. Woodyard 0 0-2 0, Grove 4 1-5 9, Hawkins 3 4-10 10, Bushee 3 5-7 12, Norton 0 2-4 2, Ra. Ogle 4 1-2 9, Burke 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 14-33 54.

3-point goals: Severna Park 3 (Coward 2, Trent); South River 4 (S. Woodyard 2, Bushee, Burke). Total fouls: Severna Park 27, South River 24. Fouled out: Hussey, Bragg; Hawkins.