Graham, Eagles Look to Carry Momentum into State Semis

When Donchez Graham signed on to become Owings Mills girls varsity basketball coach two years ago, he took a walk into the gym to check out the school’s championship banners and see the last time the Eagles were, as he put it, a “serious ballclub.”

What he discovered was that hadn’t been serious in quite awhile.

The last time the Eagles captured a region title, Graham was a junior in high school.

Some 28 years later—in just his second season at the helm—Graham and the Eagles have effectively ended that drought. Despite boasting a roster with several inexperienced players and opening up on a rocky 0-8 start this season, Graham has his Eagles believing they can continue to make history at Owings Mills.

“They took their lumps,” Graham said of the tough start, “but the greatest thing they did was submitted to being coached and committed to being better. I knew the hard work would bear some serious fruit.”

That fruit is Owings Mills first appearance in a state semfinal since 1984. The Eagles will take on a 23-2 Century (Carroll County) squad at UMBC’s RAC Arena at 5 p.m. Friday.

After dropping those first eight games, the Eagles have rebounded to go 13-3 over their last 16 contests. During that hot stretch, they’ve improved defensively while committing to rebounding the basketball and converting their attempts at the foul line.

At 13-11 overall on the year, Owings Mills has more losses than the three other semifinalists in Class 2A combined.  

Still, the Eagles are well aware that their record is no indication of how they are playing right now. They truly believe they’re a superior squad compared to the one that took the floor for the first time in November.

“Coach Graham said that it’s not about who’s better. It’s who’s going to execute better and keep up their momentum that is going to come out on top at the end,” sophomore Briana Bull said.

“At the beginning of the season, we were still working on becoming a team. We have definitely gotten better… I think we understand each other on the court. We know what each person is going to do. We trust each other," Bull said. 

Gaining trust has been a key component for a team that hardly knew one another at the outset of the season. Aside from Bull, only senior forward Danielle McIntosh—the Eagles most skilled post player—returned from last year’s squad.

A mostly underclassmen-laden team, Owings Mills was able to add experience with senior Deara Parker, a transfer from St. Frances Academy. Parker, along with quick-footed freshman Jordyn Gaer, has assumed the primary ball-handling duties for the Eagles this year.

Athletic junior Deja Little provides speed and height from her position on the wing and freshman forward Alex Mitchell came on strong toward the end of the year to help McIntosh on the interior.

Junior Iyanna Anderson, sophomore Briana Forbes, and freshmen Nia Willis and Bailey Huttenberger have all provided much needed depth for Owings Mills.

As one of just two seniors on the roster, McIntosh is stressing to her teammates that this kind of chance doesn’t come along very often.

“I really have reminded them, we have this opportunity right here, why give it up?” McIntosh said. “Every day we need to come into the gym and work hard. We have to work harder than anyone we’re going to face because we know that there’s always a better team.

“It’s just a great opportunity. My senior year, this is all I’ve wanted. And, to have it at my finger tips, I don’t want to let it slip away."

Meanwhile, Graham is lighting a fire under his players by getting them to take on an underdog mentality.

“I just tell them, Hey nobody respects you. Nobody ever respects Cinderella,” Graham said, referencing that opponents and detractors will be quick to look at the Eagles overall record and early season struggles.

“We’re not a program or a school that you talk about when you talk about girls basketball, so I know that when folks are looking they don’t stop at Owings Mills. You get them to understand that you’re playing with house money because nobody expected you to get this far. Now that you’re playing in a state semifinal, you might as well shock the world.”