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Sports

Girls Basketball: Notre Dame Prep defeats John Carroll to take IAAM 'B' Conference

The Patriots comeback attempt fell short as the Blazers took the IAAM "B" Conference title.

TOWSON——No one could have scripted a better finish to the IAAM B Conference championship Sunday night at Goucher College, with Notre Dame Prep hanging on for a 47–44 win.

Although the Blazers dominated John Carroll in the first three quarters, taking a 29-16 lead at the half and a 39-24 lead into the fourth, the Patriots took back the momentum with a 20-6 run that cut the Notre Dame Prep advantage to just one with 1:04 remaining in the contest.

In the final minute, neither team could take advantage of their opportunities at the foul line. With 11.6 seconds remaining, Patriots junior Maria Edwards was fouled by the Blazers' Syndey Tommins with a one-and-one opportunity trailing by a point.

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But Edwards' shot banked off the back of the rim and into the arms of Tommins, who was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one opportunity of her own with about six seconds remaining. She, too, missed the front end as John Carroll junior forward Emily Soller got the rebound.

Notre Dame Prep's Mary Kate Conway wrestled the ball away from Soller, tough, and sunk a layup to clinch the three-point victory for the Blazers.

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“I’m really proud of them. I feel like we really dug deep there at the end,” Notre Dame Prep coach Katie Marks said. “We got the lead and we got a little complacent with it and they stepped up the defense and started playing really aggressive. So, we had to do a good job of keeping the beat and keeping our composure and finishing.”

In the first half, the Pats let the Blazers control the tempo and did not look comfortable in handling the NDP press defense. The Blazers attacked the basket and it seemed like John Carroll had no answer until the fourth quarter. As the Blazers’ lead grew, the NDP fans drowned out any sounds from the John Carroll stands.

“It was a lot of noise,” John Carroll coach Mike Blizzard said. “I’ll take some of the blame there for the lack of communication. I’ve got a big voice and I get their attention. In that venue it was tough to do. So, we changed to some hand signals at halftime.”

In the fourth quarter, the John Carroll fans finally had something to cheer about. The Patriots took all the momentum as they applied a full-court press that led to countless Blazer turnovers. The Patriots may have been another minute from their first title in 27 years.

“I’m proud of the fight that’s in them and the determination” Blizzard said. “Coming down the stretch we had the ball and the chance to take the lead, turnover. They didn’t turn around, and woe is me, they got right back down and went and got another steal or another tie up.”

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