Long Reach started its four freshmen last week against Centennial and Hammond, and ended up losing both games by a total of three points.
Lightning coach Kevin Broadus said his team was ahead of Centennial for much of the game before missed shots and turnovers proved costly.
"With two minutes left we just couldn't score," said Broadus. "With seven seconds left Ashley Evans was fouled and she made both free throws."
Evans' free throws were the difference in Centennial's 43-31 victory.
"The girls made a tremendous effort for four quarters," Broadus said. "They played hard."
Two days later, Long Reach started slow and fell behind 35-19 at halftime against Hammond. But the Lighting rallied and Timisha Gomez's three-pointer pulled them within 55-54 at the buzzer.
"The team made a heck of an effort in the second half," Broadus said. "Everybody was really hustling. I told the girls had they made that kind of effort in the first half we definitely would have won the game."
The four freshmen - Gomez, Whitney Ward, Marche Westray and LyTia Blackmon - give the Lightning (4-13 overall, 1-12 league) a quick team. But they still have many things to learn.
"Defensively we're getting better," said Broadus, whose team doesn't have a senior. "We have to improve our passing, shooting and limit our turnovers. Hopefully we can get better and stronger for the playoffs."
The Lightning plays tonight at Wilde Lake, which lost, 51-40, to Long Reach earlier in the season.
Something unusual happened in River Hill's 52-29 win last Friday over Glenelg: there wasn't a Walcott in the Hawks' box score.
Sophomore point guard Fana Walcott had scored in all 16 previous games, and senior sister Rashida, who has been nursing an injured hip, also had contributed in many games. But neither had a point against the Gladiators.
"I didn't realize it until a day later," said Fana.
Did it bother her?
"Not at all," she said.
The Oakland Mills at Mount Hebron girls basketball game scheduled today will be played at 5 p.m. tomorrow to allow Mount Hebron to host a wrestling tournament.
Fields, Hobart make choices
All-County girls soccer players Jen Fields of Glenelg and Sarah Hobart of Wilde Lake have decided where they'll spend the next four years.
Fields, a midfielder, will sign a scholarship today to attend East Tennessee State University. Hobart, a goalie, will be a recruited walk-on at Davidson (N.C.) College.
A three-year varsity player who set a school record for career points with 74 (23 goals, 28 assists), Fields said she had a very good trip to the Johnson City college.
"I loved my visit," said Fields, who had 12 goals and nine assists last season to help the Gladiators to their second straight Class 1A state title. "The moment I got there I knew this was the place for me. They made me feel like they wanted me. I wasn't just a number, I was a person."
Hobart said she selected Davidson for the academics and athletics. She plans to be a pre-med student and wants to go into orthopedics, something she has first-hand knowledge of.
"Everything I've undergone has really motivated me," said Hobart, whose senior season was the first without an injury. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament in 1998 and a year later had ACL replacement surgery. Also in 1999, she had a cracked pelvis.
She currently has a mentorship with her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Joseph Ciotola, at Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland.
"I love it," Hobart, who had 125 saves last season and led the Wildecats to their best record (10-4-3) in years.
