Golden Bears

One of the area's best-kept secrets in boys basketball has been the stellar play of Hammond point guard Chris Baker. The 5-foot-11 senior has done everything a coach can ask in leading the Golden Bears to a 16-3 mark. More importantly, he has done it with consistency. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/varsityletters)

Between them, Hammond and Atholton have won five of 25 games this season.Hammond has lost three times by 30 or more points. Atholton has lost eight times by 30 or more points. The Raiders once lost by 60 and last month dropped consecutive games by 49, 40 and 50 points.The first time Hammond played Atholton, the Golden Bears won by 38. They met again last night at Atholton, and nothing much has changed. Hammond routed the Raiders, 62-35."At first, [losing] was pretty hard," said Atholton sophomore Sarah Costa, who scored six points against the Golden Bears.

So how well did Hammond's girls basketball team play Wednesday night at Centennial?"Monumental," said Hammond first-year coach Mike Mongelli. "We needed that type of effort and we got it."Sophomores Melissa Workman and Tara Zammichieli each scored 15 points and the Golden Bears never trailed as they upset the 14th-ranked Eagles, 49-40, at Centennial."This is huge," Mongelli said. "You don't beat [Centennial coach] Dave Greenberg on his court very often. This will help the girls realize that if they hustle and play well they can beat some of these teams."

Hammond has it. Call it chemistry, call it luck, call it fate. There's something there, and the Golden Bears have harnessed it to propel them to the state tournament for the second year in a row.Playing five sophomores in the back, Hammond shut out ninth-ranked Mount Hebron, 2-0, last night in the Class 2A South region championship game at Howard. Senior midfielder Natalie Trancucci scored her first varsity goal three minutes into the second half, and freshman Heather Steele, called up from the JV for the playoffs, clinched it in the final minute.

Towson University improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1994 with an 18-7 victory over host Hartford in an America East game yesterday. Kevin Strum's seven goals sparked the Tigers (3-0, 2-0). Todd Richard had four goals for Hartford (2-2, 0-2).WomenGoucher 9, Hartwick 8: Lindsay Ayers scored the game-winner with 10 seconds left as the host Gophers (3-2) upset the ninth-ranked Hawks (2-1).Western Maryland 19, Dickinson 10: Senior co-captain Amy North returned from knee surgery with a career-high seven goals as the visiting Green Terror opened with a Centennial Conference win.Mount St. Mary's 14, California 11: Erica Hensley, Jen Stocker and Michelle Coates scored three goals apiece to lead the host Mountaineers (3-3)

Hammond girls basketball coach Joe Russo, whose teams played in a record-tying five straight Class 2A state championships and won three of them, has resigned after 12 seasons.The Golden Bears were state finalists from the 1991-92 through 1995-96 seasons, and captured crowns in 1992, 1994, and 1995. They also were county champions in 1994 and 1995."I just felt like it was time for me to stop," said Russo, a fiercely competitive coach who, in years past, would bite down on a towel to lessen his bark at the referees.

Martha Bielefeld could have taken a shot. Instead, the Hammond junior midfielder passed on the play."I saw Michelle [Jenkins] wide open in front of the goal," said Bielefeld. "I decided to give a through pass to her."Jenkins took the pass and lifted the ball past Centennial nTC goalkeeper Erica Neiman. The goal -- with one second left in the first, 10-minute overtime period -- earned the eighth-ranked Golden Bears a 3-2 Howard County victory over the visiting, 11th-ranked Eagles."It's been nine years since we've beaten them," said Hammond coach Peter Di Marco.

Hammond needed two days and a penalty-kick shootout but defeated stubborn Oakland Mills, 3-2, in a Class 1A South region quarterfinal yesterday at Hammond.The seventh-ranked Golden Bears (13-1-1) made seven of 10 penalty kicks against Oakland Mills goalkeeper Nicole Petro. The Scorpions (5-10) put four past Hammond keeper Lindsey Mitchell.Hammond will play at Glenelg at 2 p.m. Saturday in a region semifinal game. Hammond beat Glenelg, 1-0, in overtime at Glenelg on Sept. 25.In yesterday's shootout, Hammond scored on six of its first seven shots.

Malveata Johnson led all scorers with 21 points as visiting North Carolina A&T edged Coppin State, 55-54, last night in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference women's game.Liesha Mitchell had a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles (3-8, 1-4).Mount St. Mary's 86, Robert Morris 61: Megan Gardiner scored 23 points in 28 minutes as the Mountaineers (8-6, 4-0) breezed to a Northeast Conference win over the visiting Colonials (1-14, 0-5).Gallaudet 94, Salisbury 81: Ronda Miller and Ronda Johnson combined for 58 points and 20 rebounds to lead the visiting Bison (11-1, 3-0)

Hammond has a field that other county teams envy. It also has a pretty good team.Yesterday, both had opening-season tests.Can you say straight A's?The Golden Bears, playing on their new Bermuda grass field, got a little payback with a 5-0 rout of Seton Keough in front of an appreciative and larger-than-usual crowd."

BERKELEY, Calif. - - The video board inside Maryland's Gossett Football Team House flashed "Cal Week" and "21" all week as the Terps prepared to play California tonight in a season opener that is a rematch of one of last season's most compelling Maryland games. The "21" was a reference to the Terrapins being three-touchdown underdogs to the No. 12 Golden Bears. Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen was asked during the week whether the unwieldy point spread angered his players. "I hope so," replied Friedgen, who has been using the lack of respect for Maryland to motivate his young team.

Stephanie Speierman allowed three hits and struck out 16 Monday as the Hammond softball team prevailed, 9-0, over host Atholton (1-1). Speierman, who was named one of ESPN's top 25 players in the country earlier in the week, also scored three runs and had an RBI double in the third inning for the Golden Bears (2-0). Freshman Hannah Force went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. GLENELG 13, MOUNT HEBRON 2:: Casey Schmidt pitched a no-hitter and Amanda Segrist hit two home runs as the Gladiators (2-1)

Andre McGee scored a season-high 16 points as No. 6 Louisville beat No. 8 Marquette, 62-58, yesterday to keep alive its hopes for a Big East title. Terrence Williams added 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the host Cardinals (23-5, 14-2), who have won five straight and can clinch at least a share of the regular-season title by winning their final two games. Wesley Matthews led the Golden Eagles (23-6, 12-4) with 19 points. No. 9 Michigan State 74, No. 20 Illinois 66: : The visiting Spartans (23-5, 13-3)

One of the area's best-kept secrets in boys basketball has been the stellar play of Hammond point guard Chris Baker. The 5-foot-11 senior has done everything a coach can ask in leading the Golden Bears to a 16-3 mark. More importantly, he has done it with consistency. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/varsityletters)

After falling in a dramatic fashion in the third round the previous two seasons, the Maryland men's soccer team proved the third time's the charm yesterday, defeating California, 2-1, at Ludwig Field to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Terps (20-3-0) missed on two scoring chances before getting their first goal. Jason Herrick tapped a ball to Casey Townsend, who made a nice turn and passed to Jeremy Hall coming down the pipe, but Hall's strike went high of the goal. Three minutes later, Townsend made another fantastic turn in the box and took the shot himself, but Golden Bears goalkeeper Stefan Frei saved the shot up the middle.

The goal for the No. 14 C. Milton Wright softball team yesterday was to put the ball in play, no easy task against Hammond All-Metro pitcher Stephanie Speierman. The Mustangs were able to do just that, though, scoring three times in the third inning and getting a fine pitching performance from Brittany Favazzo to come away with a 3-0 upset win over the No. 5 Golden Bears. Favazzo allowed just four hits, striking out 12 batters to out-duel Speierman, who went 23-1 last season and pitched a perfect game in the Class 2A state championship game.

When the California Golden Bears and Oregon Ducks met in a Pac-10 showdown almost two months ago, there were three interested observers about 3,000 miles away. Kyle Boller, a California alumnus, and Haloti Ngata and Demetrius Williams, who both went to Oregon, watched the game with the kind of intensity they usually reserve for studying game film. And after the Golden Bears emerged victorious with a 31-24 win in Eugene, Ore., on Sept. 29, Boller rejoiced at the thought of his just reward: a free meal funded by Ngata and Williams.

COLLEGE PARK -- As the last North East batter stepped to the plate in the seventh inning of yesterday's Class 2A state softball championship, the Hammond cheering section stood up as one and applauded. They were all well aware and appreciative of what they were watching -- perfection. Sophomore pitcher Stephanie Speierman wasn't about to disappoint, throwing the final three strikes to complete the task: a perfect game for a 4-0 win over the Indians from Cecil County that not only gave the No. 5 Golden Bears (24-1)

Senior pitcher Colleen Mathis threw a two-hitter, striking out 15 batters, to lead No. 4 Institute of Notre Dame to a 2-0 upset at No. 1 and previously undefeated Chesapeake-AA in softball yesterday. The Indians (11-1) scored in the top of the fourth when Brianna Jones hit a triple down the right-field line and came home on a throwing error. Rebecca Nicely provided insurance with a seventh-inning single to score Sabrina Mullany. Chesapeake, which captured Archbishop Spalding's Cavalier Classic on Saturday, fell to 7-1. Sophomore pitcher Lauren Gibson had 15 strikeouts in the loss.

After breaking his collarbone earlier in the season, Hammond forward Mostafa Ebrahimnejad did not know if he would heal in time to help the Golden Bears, who fell one goal short last year, capture their first state title. The injury mended well enough for Ebrahimnejad to return for this season's playoff run, and he was instrumental in leading Hammond to a 3-1 victory over Loch Raven in the Class 2A state championship game last night at UMBC. Ebrahimnejad scored the game's first goal, set up the second and created match-up problems all night for the Raiders, who were looking for the first state championship since 1977.