Zero-for-22. 11 minutes, 45 seconds.
An out-and-out eternity for Franklin coach Jill Myers.
In a game where the Indians needed to play one of their better offensive games, it was the relentless defensive pressure of host Randallstown that stole the show.
The Rams held Franklin without a field goal until well into the second quarter, building a 20-3 lead by midway through the period and going on to a 61-40 win last night in a Baltimore County 3A-4A League game.
"We needed to come out as fast as possible, and that's what we did," said Randallstown first-year coach Chris Hodge. "We got everything off our defense. They're a good shooting team, and you can't let a good shooting team shoot the ball."
Using their across-the-board height advantage and relentless pressure on defense, the Rams completely immobilized Franklin's offense until Ivy Hailey scored her team's first basket on its 23rd shot -- a put-back with 4:15 left in the second quarter.
"The slow start really hurt us," said Myers, whose team had lost to Randallstown by just one point in early January.
"We didn't hit anything early and we dug ourselves a hole too big to climb out of."
Led by point guard Anika Lee, who scored 21 points, the Rams led 15-1, 20-3 and, by early in the third quarter, 32-10.
Randallstown threw the Indians' offense out of sync with its press, forcing 26 turnovers and turning the majority of them into fast-break baskets.
"That's the way we try to play all our games," said Lee. "We come out with the press and try to run people out of the game."
They further hampered Franklin's game plan by rebounding well. The Rams had a 28-19 rebounding edge in the first half, getting two and three shots a possession while limiting the smaller Indians to one.
With the Indians' 6-foot center, Jill Smith, plagued by foul trouble, the size disadvantage proved too much to handle.
"There's no question that size hurt us," said Myers, whose team was overwhelmed with trying to box out the trio of 5-11 LaTonya Chambers (12 points), 5-11 Shavon Henley and 6-2 Katrina Johns (11).
Smith finished with two points, while Hailey, a 5-4 guard, led the team with 14.
The victory keeps Randallstown (14-2 overall, 14-0 in the league) solidly entrenched in first place in the 3A-4A League, dropping second-place Franklin (11-2, 11-2) 2 1/2 games back.
Hodge said the difference between last night's blowout and the early-January nail-biter at Franklin was the increase in defensive pressure.
"Last time we played a little too passively," said Hodge. "This time we decided to put more pressure on them on defense.
"Defense is our strength. It's going to take us as far as we can go."
Lee, a transfer from rival Woodlawn, said that the Rams have come together as a team since the previous meeting. That, she says, could make Randallstown a state title contender.
"We've been playing together more since then," said Lee. "Now we know each others' games better and we're better as a team."
