Ask McDonogh coach Katie Keating about her top-ranked team's only loss of the season and she has little trouble ripping off the gory details.
"I think that game was an anomaly," said Keating, who watched the tape of that game Wednesday night. "It was Dec. 19 to Sidwell Friends [of Washington]. We didn't play with any confidence."
Judging from their performance in yesterday's 69-27 win over Friends in the AIS A semifinals, confidence isn't a problem these days for the Eagles.
First-team All-Metro guard Vicki Brick had 36 points, 10 steals and four assists in 24 minutes, as host McDonogh ran out to a 40-11 lead and never looked back.
The victory sets up a championship game against Roland Park tomorrow. McDonogh beat Roland Park by double digits in their last meeting.
"I think we'll have to come out and play good defense," said Brick. "The first time we played them, we had a lot of turnovers, so this time we're going to have to take care of the ball better."
Yesterday, Brick made certain her team would make it that far. She paced the Eagles to a 12-2 lead after the first 3: 40 and they later extended it to 22-4 and, by halftime, to 40-12.
The game may have been a blowout, but Brick kept the crowd interested with her blazing drives to the basket and constant hustle on defense. Brick scored 10 of McDonogh's first 12 points, and had 24 for the half.
"She wants to win so badly," Keating said. "She's going to play as hard as she can all the time. Her defense is just unbelievable."
Kirsten Campbell paced the Quakers (17-8) with 11 points and Maron Deering added 10.
AIS B semifinals
Baltimore Lutheran 35, Garrison Forest 30: In a closely contested game from the start, sophomore Kristen Williamson and junior Leslie Caple hit big shots down the stretch for their only points to help the top-seeded Saints (19-3) to victory over the fifth-seeded Grizzlies (7-10).
The win sets up a matchup against second-seeded Seton Keough-AIS at Loyola College at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
Senior Nevin Caple had a game-high 17 points and sophomore Allison Bruton scored 12 points.
L Sophomore Courtney Kirby led Garrison Forest with 12 points.
Seton Keough-AIS 45, St. Timothy's 44: Junior Tess Romiti hit a three-pointer with 39 seconds left to tie the game at 44 and a free throw with 16 seconds left to lift the second-seeded Gators (13-11) to a home win over third-seeded, defending champion St. Timothy's (7-8).
St. Timothy's had outscored Seton Keough 16-6 in the third quarter to take a 38-35 lead into the fourth period.
Sophomore Katie Purper added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Gators.
Sophomore Amy Porterfield had a game-high 19 points for St. Timothy's.
Pub Date: 2/13/98
