Huskies cool of Rams in Igloo, 63-56
Fratz scores 38, McKenzie hits eventual game-winning field goals
By Kevin Spradlin
The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
ACCIDENT, Feb. 17 - "This is our house! This is our house!" The decidedly pro-Husky crowd inside the Northern Garrett High School gymnasium on Thursday chanted the four-beat count in the final seconds of the Huskies' 63-56 win over south county rival Rams.
They were giddy with glee. And rightfully so, as the Northern Garrett girls basketball team earned another AMAC win, this time 63-56, and and stayed in position to be the No. 2 seed in the Maryland Class 1A West Region playoffs.
At the same time, those fans had to be breathing a collective sigh of relief. That's because visiting Southern Garrett became quite comfortable despite the "Deep Freeze" theme of the game inside the Igloo.
Up by 17 points at halftime, the Huskies seemed to be on a path to an easy victory. Star point guard Kaitlynn Fratz already had tallied 20 points, including 14 in the second quarter, while fellow senior star Morgan Brosnihan and role players Allison Yommer and Kiersten Butler all combined for 13 points to aid Northern Garrett's quest for a regular season sweep.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Huskies' presumed victory. And the Rams' second-half play, during which Southern took advantage of key starters either injured (Terra McKenzie) or in foul trouble (Allison Yommer) for the Huskies, made the contest a game after all.
Hannah Horn scored five of the first eight points for Southern in the third quarter. Two straight field goals pulled the Rams within 42-28 with 3:43 left in the period. Fratz hit two free throws, but Mandy Sweitzer scored on a fastbreak and Marian Stem hit a 3-pointer with 1:53 to play. Southern was down by 12 points - and it seemed the dozens of fans in the bleachers wearing red and white could sense the tide was turning.
Southern trailed by 15 at the start of the fourth quarter, with Fratz having scored five of the last six Husky points to end the third period with a 49-34 lead.
Sweitzer and Stem struck again early in the fourth. Trailing 51-36, Sweitzer hit a bucket and Stem nailed another 3-pointer with 6:38 to go. The Rams trailed by only 10.
That's when reserve junior guard Taryn Brenneman, who has made a nice habit of making big shots all season, hit her only field goal of the game - but it was big: a 3-pointer that pushed Northern's lead to 54-41 with 6:22 to go.
Sweitzer, off the bench, wasn't finished yet. She hit three of four foul shots and Alli Shaffer, playing with four fouls, made a layup and a free throw to complete the three-point play. Huskies 54, Rams 47.
Fratz hit a free throw and McKenzie hit what turned out to be the go-ahead bucket with 4:15 to go. But neither the players - nor the crowd - grew peaceful. Victory, after all, was far from a sure thing.
Alycia Horne's field goal made it 57-49 Huskies and, after another McKenzie drained another basket, Horne nailed another field goal and Sweitzer hit the second of two free throws to keep the Rams within seven points. Less than four minutes remained.
As the final two minutes ticked away, the game got physical. Sweitzer grabbed a defensive rebound and Fratz apparently got too close. Fratz was rewarded with an elbow to the face - and was called for the foul. Sweitzer hit the first of two free throws to close the deficit to six points with 2:02 to play.
Forty-three seconds later, Horne hit a layup. Huskies 59, Rams 55, with 1:19 to go in the fourth quarter.
About 30 seconds later, the Husky faithful began chanting "Shut up Southern." But Rams fans had every reason to cheer. And they did, especially when Fratz turned the ball over on Northern's end of the court with 30.8 seconds to go.
Exactly 7.6 seconds later, though, Fratz got the last laugh. She nailed two free throws - points 35 and 36 - and, with nine seconds on the clock, hit two more.
The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
Phone: 301-264-3147
Email: [email protected]
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Mount Savage, MD 21545
63 56
X
No. 2 Northern Garrett 63
No. 7 Southern Garrett 56
SOUTHERN GARRETT
Fike 0 2-2 2, Horner 7 1-2 15, Shaffer 3 2-3 8, Sweitzer 3 6-12 12, Griffin 1 0-0 2, Stem 3 0-0 9, Horne 3 2-5 8. Totals 20 13-24 56.
NORTHERN GARRETT
Butler 1 0-0 3, Fratz 10 14-18 38, McKenzie 3 1-4 8, Yommer 1 5-6 7, Brosnihan 2 0-0 4, Brenneman 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 20-28 63.
Rams 8 12 14 22 -- 56
Huskies 15 22 12 14 -- 63
3-point goals: Southern Garrett 3 (Horne 3). Northern Garrett 7 (Butler, Fratz 4, McKenzie, Brenneman).
2.18, 10:28 a.m. - JV stats are posted (scroll down). Video will soon be posted.
Junior Varsity
Northern Garrett 50
Southern Garrett 34
SOUTHERN GARRETT (10-9, 8-6 AMAC)
Tobery 0 0-1 0, Watson 4 2-5 11, Roth 3 0-0 6, Weimer 2 2-4 6, Tichnell 0 0-2 0, Alt 4 2-2 11. Totals 13 6-14 34.
NORTHERN GARRETT (17-4, 13-2 AMAC)
E. Fratz 1 0-0 3, Porter 3 3-9 10, Paugh 1 4-4 6, Murphy 0 1-2 1, Rayner 4 4-4 12, Folk 1 0-0 2, Bergstrom 1 2-4 4, Monahan 6 0-0 12. Totals 17 14-23 50.
Rams 10 4 10 10 -- 34
Huskies 10 9 14 17 -- 50
3-point goals: Southern Garrett 2 (Watson, Alt). Northern Garrett 2 (E. Fratz, Porter).
After slow start, Huskies pull away from Rams
By The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
ACCIDENT, Feb. 17 -- Host Northern Garrett kept the game close early thanks to Mandi Monahan.
They broke it open in the second half in large part to Kirsten Rayner and Kayla Porter.
Monahan scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half as the Huskies trailed 12-10 early in the second quarter. Porter passed the ball off to a moving Rayner, who drove to the basket for a layup and to knot the score 12-12 with 3:42 left before intermission. The Huskies finished a 9-2 run to hold a 19-14 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Rayner and Porter took over. Rayner (12 points) and Porter (10 points) combined for 15 points in the second half.
After the third quarter, the Huskies led 33-24. Faith Tichnell tried to help the Rams stay alive by scoring four points, including two free throws, in the fourth period.