Northwest Girls Fall in Regional Championship Game

Northwest senior Katelyn Porter stood near the sideline with less than a minute to play in Saturday’s 4A West region championship game, waiting to return to an all-too-familiar spot on the Jaguar bench.

Porter, a standout guard and an integral part of Northwest’s 19-game winning streak, picked up her fifth foul and was disqualified. It was a fitting end for the senior, who spent most of the season’s biggest game as a sideline spectator in foul trouble.

No. 1 Gaithersburg defeated No. 2 Northwest, 65-51, at Blair High School, capturing its second consecutive region championship. The Jaguars kept the game close into the third quarter, but three key players - Porter, Carla Batchelor and Danielle Garroutte - in foul trouble was too much for Northwest (20-5) to overcome against the undefeated Trojans (23-0).

“I’m devastated,” Batchelor said. “I just wanted to win this game so bad.”

Porter and Batchelor had each been whistled for three fouls by halftime and Garroutte picked up her third early in the second half. Porter picked up her fourth foul with 5:31 remaining in the third quarter. The Jaguars trailed 36-30 with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter, but with reserves in the game, Northwest couldn’t keep up with talented Gaithersburg. The Trojans pulled away with a 13-2 run and led by double digits the rest of the way.

“We sort of went out hoping to get them in a little bit of foul trouble,” Northwest head coach Rob Smith said. “They got us in some foul trouble early. … Having Katelyn off the court [made things difficult]. She runs the offense, defense, you name it. Having her not on the floor … against a really tough team, it’s tough.”

Porter picked up her second foul on a three-point play by Gaithersburg’s Kara Marshall, giving the Trojans a 14-13 lead with less than one minute remaining in the opening quarter. Porter picked up her third foul with 6:39 remaining in the second quarter and didn’t play for the remainder of the half. Porter was whistled for her third foul on a reach-in 30 feet from the basket.

“It was definitely tough,” Porter said. “The refs weren’t really calling it our way, so the best we could do was cheer from the bench and try to encourage.”

Northwest’s Sarah Sekscienski knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the Jaguars within four at 26-22 late in the second quarter. Gaithersburg responded with seven points in the final 45 seconds and entered the locker room with a 33-22 advantage. The Trojans led by as many as 17 in the second half.

Gaithersburg defeated Northwest, 54-40, on Dec. 13.

“We knew we worked hard all year long just to get here and we knew if we played our game, we could beat them,” Gaithersburg head coach Adrian McDaniel said. “… I’m proud of them.”

Camry Torian led Northwest with 15 points. Batchelor scored 13 points, Porter finished with nine.

Marshall led Gaithersburg with 20 points. Jackie Jackson scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Sarah Seipp finished with 14 points and Colleen Marshall added 10.

Northwest captured its first division title since 2001, won 19 consecutive games after a 1-4 start and finished one game shy of the state tournament.

“A lot of great things were accomplished,” Smith said. “The seniors should be extremely happy. Right now it sucks; we know that. It’s tough. A lot of the girls, they’ve never been through something like this.”

Seniors Porter, Garroutte, Sekscienski, Anne Harris and Kassie Nantz suited up for Northwest for the final time.

“When we first started [the season], we were still getting used to each other,” Garroutte said. “Some ... had played with each other before but we had so many new people. It was just trying to get through finding out how the other person played. … Once we figured that out it was really smooth.”