Gaithersburg Girls Head to State Finals

The Gaithersburg girls basketball team is back to take care of some "unfinished business."

The Trojans defeated Charles County's North Point High School 62-35 Thursday night at the University of Maryland Baltimore County's RAC Arena to advance to the state finals.

Despite a 27-point differential in the final score, one that is usual for Gaithersburg, the game remained close until the end of the third quarter. Both teams shot relatively poorly, and Gaithersburg missed an unusual amount of open shots. The Trojans shot just 10 of 39 from the field and nine of 32 from the line in the first half. Gaithersburg also gave up 13 turnovers and was out-rebounded 31-23.

"We were just off in the first half," Gaithersburg head coach Adrian McDaniel said.

With two minutes left in the second quarter, and Gaithersburg having scored only four points, the Trojans went on a 7-0 run, only for North Point to answer with a 6-0 run of its own. This momentum continued into the third quarter, as the Eagles cut Gaithersburg's lead to just three.

"Our immaturity showed in the first half, but once we got the hang of it, we knew, they're not letting up," North Point sophomore Tasia Butler said. "We have to come as hard as they do. That's when we started hustling."

McDaniel called timeout late in the third quarter. Normally, McDaniel's mantra to his players is to settle down and play their game.

"Actually, they settled me down," McDaniel said. "Because I tend to get excited, and they told me, 'settle down coach, we got this.'"

It was at this point that senior Kara Marshall effectively ended the Eagles' momentum with two huge 3-pointers. She sparked new life into the team, and the Trojans ended the quarter on a 13-0 run. By the fourth quarter, Gaithersburg had taken most of the fight out of North Point.

"I think in the first half, our shots weren't falling at all, and in the second half, Kara and Sarah hit big shots that just totally turned our momentum and turned things around from there," Gaithersburg junior Colleen Marshall said.

North Point posed some unique challenges to Gaithersburg. North Point head coach Michael Serpone II said the team's press break is actually designed to counter Gaithersburg's type of press. In the first half it was largely successful; North Point shot even worse than Gaithersburg, however, with four of 24 from the field.

North Point also at times had a strong defense under the basket, and 6-foot-2 freshman Khaila Prather gobbled up 11 defensive rebounds, leaving Gaithersburg junior Jackie Jackson, normally dominant on the boards, with just five offensive rebounds. The Eagles grabbed 49 total rebounds to Gaithersburg's 47.

"We came out and played in spurts," Serpone said. "It's something we've talked about all year, it's something we've tried to get better at, and for the most part we have. You see flashes of brilliance with these girls, we just haven't been able to put four quarters together, and this is another example of it."

Senior Sarah Seipp led the Trojans with 18 points, while Kara Marshall scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Jackson and Colleen Marshall each scored 11 points.

Gaithersburg will play Henry A. Wise High School of Prince George's County on Saturday at 3 p.m. Wise went 20-5 to make it to the Final Four, and beat Urbana in overtime 58-57 in the semi-finals.