No. 2 Panthers beat Seton Keough, 42-31, for 4th straight title
By Katherine Dunn
Sun reporter
February 20, 2006
A minute into the fourth quarter of last night's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship, St. Frances coach Jerome Shelton called a timeout to settle his team.
With a 12-point lead over Seton Keough, a stingy defense and domination on the boards, the Panthers nearly had the championship in hand but suffered a momentary loss of concentration.
"He just wanted to bring us down a notch and let us know the game was not won yet," senior guard Maya Newman said. "We had to fight hard, because any time, they could get back in it."
The No. 2 Panthers responded by boosting their lead to 15 and finishing off a 42-31 victory over No. 4 Seton Keough before about 1,000 fans at Villa Julie College.
The victory, powered by a sticky man-to-man defense and a 54-32 rebounding edge, gave Shelton and his Panthers (24-4) their fourth straight A Conference title. They have won five of the last six.
"This is even better, because we actually won it four times in a row," said Newman, one of only two Panthers seniors. "No team has ever done that, so it puts a place in history for us. Me being on the team four times in a row makes it kind of special."
The Gators (23-5) came into the title game after a 72-48 upset of No. 1 Towson Catholic, which had beaten the Panthers twice during the regular season.
Last night, however, the Gators got into trouble early when 6-foot senior forward Haliena Snowden picked up her third foul in the final seconds of the first quarter. She got her fourth early in the third quarter and spent much of both quarters on the bench, leaving the inside load to 6-3 freshman center Aysa Bussie (10 points, six rebounds) and 5-8 sophomore forward Ayana Lee.
"Having Haliena out of the game, they could really dig into our inexperience," Gators coach Jackie Boswell said. "Aysa couldn't get any shots off and we couldn't get any rebounds. Their experience of being here really took over. They made it difficult for us and they outplayed us at times."
The Panthers had a 41-13 edge in rebounds through the first three quarters. Six-foot center Kandice Green finished with 15 rebounds, while 6-1 All-Metro forward Mi-Khida Hankins and 5-9 guard Dawnae Roberts had nine each. Roberts led St. Frances in scoring with 14 points. |
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Dawnae Roberts hits a second half jumper. She led St. Frances with 14 points. |
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Jerome Shelton kept his team focused. |
Mi-Khida Hankins on the free throw line. |
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Mi-Khida grabbing one her 9 rebounds. |
Panthers fans were enthusiastic. |
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Senior Maya Newman (22) holds the IAAM trophy. |
Newman contributed on four consecutive championship teams. |
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The Lady Panthers have won 4 consecutive championships and 5 championships of the last 6 years. |
Sun reporter Katherine Dunn interviews Newman after the game. |
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Proud parents: Charles Newman played basketball for the University of Baltimore and Audrey Newman played for UMBC. Maya closed the first half with consecutive end to end drives giving the Lady Panthers an 11-point halftime lead. |
After the game, SFA teacher Rabbi Gila Ruskin congratulates colleague Jerome Shelton on his 7th championship as Lady Panthers head coach. |
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