Girls Basketball: Third Quarter Outburst Fuels Titans Over Sparrows Point

After scoring 24 points in the first and second quarter combined Monday night, New Town decided it would pour in 24 more during the third quarter alone.

Tied with Sparrows Point at 24 apiece coming out of the halftime break, the Titans outscored the Pointers 24-5 in the third frame—and 40-15 total in the second half—en route to a decisive 64-39 victory in which Jannah Tucker narrowly missed out on a triple-double.

The sophomore forward finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds and nine steals to go along with five assists and four blocks.  

Despite the Titans’ (12-9) onslaught of offense in the second half, Tucker pointed toward the team’s defense as to what sparked their outburst after the break.

“I think our defense got a little better. We buckled down on defense and kind of picked on the player’s weaknesses,” Tucker said.  

Tucker emphasized the attention they placed on making Sparrows Point forward Maggie Shifflet beat them going right, after realizing her left handed game was her strong suit. As a result, Shifflet, who netted 10 first half points, only added three more for the rest of the game—and they didn’t come until the end of the fourth quarter.

After locking down the Pointers (2-16) on the defensive end of the court, New Town began showcasing its full offensive arsenal.

The Titans opened the quarter with a 9-0 run that featured a stretch of seven straight points from Tucker to take a 33-24 lead and didn’t allow a Sparrows Point basket until Donyae Ricardo’s free throw with around five minutes to play.

When Sparrows Point climbed back within seven, New Town responded with a 10-0 spurt that swelled the advantage to 44-27.

“On offense it’s basically getting everyone to touch the ball and seeing who’s the open man. You got to play together as a team and look for the scorers,” said New Town assistant coach Gina Young, who assumed the lead role with head coach James Thomas arriving late due to traffic.

Added Tucker, “Offensively we were smoother and we calmed down and settled down and got good shots. I think those were the keys.”    

Junior Jasmine Jefferson chipped in with 10 points and sophomore Amber Green tallied seven. 

Despite the strong personal performance, Tucker takes pride in getting her teammates involved and improving the team’s execution as a whole.

“It’s very important because not only am I trying to work on my game but I’m trying to get the team better as well,” Tucker said. “Basketball is a team game. I want the team to share the victory with me too. That’s very important to me.”

 The Titans remain home to take on Oakdale High School (Frederick County) tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. They finish out the regular season at Randallstown, Wednesday night at 6:30.