Hannibal

A franchise defender.A crucial part of the Liberty girls lacrosse dynasty.That's senior Natalie Hannibal, who will play her final regular-season game for the Lions Monday at Howard.Hannibal is one of those rare athletes who can drive herself to a top level of performance in every game no matter the opponentSure, she might get a little extra psyched for neighborhood rival South Carroll.But she also plays a fiercely intense game against a Westminster or a North Carroll in what are usually runaway victories for the fifth-ranked Lions (13-0)

Liberty's Shanna Ziegenfuss was at her puzzling best last night, zigging and zagging through the North Carroll defense and scoring three times along the way to lead the Lions to a 4-0 win in Hampstead.Sidelined for the first three games with a bad knee, she has five goals in three games since returning."I'm glad she's back, what more can A say -- she's just a phenomenal player," said Liberty coach Chuck Martin.Liberty improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in county play, and North Carroll dropped to 3-2 and 2-1 in the county.

Francis Scott Key EaglesCoach: Joe Linthicum.1993 record: 6-6.Top players: Carri Ryer, Sr., F; Kelly Jirout, Sr., F; Lisa Turner, Sr., MF; Jaime White, Sr., D; Pam Lochner, Jr., D.Outlook: The Eagles have some solid talent returning, but also have some voids to fill. Linthicum is hoping the veterans can hold down things in the early going while the newcomers get settled in at the varsity level. Ryer and Jirout give the Eagles a lot of speed up front and Linthicum is confident the Eagles will be able to put the ball in the net. Turner appears ready to take control of the midfield in the middle.

This was vintage Liberty High girls lacrosse.Precise passing and catching in a blistering transition game, constant cutters in front of the net, rapid-fire scoring from the big three of Kym Frey, Megan Horneman and Nathalie Skovron and a tough defense led by Natalie Hannibal.The result was a 23-9 romp for the top-seeded Lions over fourth-seeded Oakland Mills last night in the semifinals of the 1A-2A West Regional at Liberty.Liberty (14-1) will meet third-seeded Wilde Lake 7 p.m. Tuesday at Liberty in the 1A-2A West final.

Whether we want to admit it or not, crime is rapidly becoming a major problem in Columbia and the rest of Howard County.Trapped as we are between two major East Coast crime centers -- Washington and Baltimore -- it is almost inevitable that our community will increasingly become a target.At a recent meeting of concerned residents living in the Hannibal Grove apartment complex in Wilde Lake, one resident rightly noted that "we can't build walls to keep the criminals out."So, we are left to seek alternatives.

The Liberty Lions jumped out to a big first-half lead and held off Catholic's long-distance attack to come away with a 55-42 win last night in Eldersburg.Four Lions (3-9) scored in double figures to offset the comeback bid by the visiting Cubs, who scored half of their 42 points on seven three-pointers -- including six in the second half.Natalie Hannibal and Jessica Horneman had 14 apiece and Amy North and Ashley Davis each added 10 to lead the Lions.Liberty led from start to finish, jumping out to a 16-7 lead after one and increasing it to 33-14 at the half.

* Julie Baker, North Carroll, 5-5, Soph., G -- The heir apparent to the Panthers' graduated point guard Ashlee Douglas. Baker is young and inexperienced but has the natural ability to play the important point-guard position. Look for Baker to split time with junior Cori Bradford early in the season before taking over the job.* Julie Backof, Westminster, 5-9, Sr., F -- One of the best all-around athletes in the county, Backof is coming off a solid season in goal for the Owls' soccer team. Now, she must turn her attentions to basketball where coach Bernie Koontz will rely on her heavily to do a little bit of everything.

The Running Brook area of Wilde Lake has taken the first steps toward forming a crime watch.A community meeting on Nov. 10 featured Cpl. Tara Ball, a spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department's crime prevention office.The Hannibal Grove residents who attended discussed their concerns about crime and talked with Corporal Ball about prevention methods.Burt Thompson, the community director at Hannibal Grove, said the meeting went well."There was a lot of interest, and many good points were raised," he said.

Natalie Hannibal scored off a header with 25 minutes left in regulation as visiting Liberty twice rallied from one-goal deficits last night to defeat Westminster, 3-2.With Liberty (5-2, 2-1 in the county) coming off an impressive shutout win over Howard last week and Westminster (5-2, 1-1) recording four straight shutout wins behind senior goalie Julie Backof, last night's game appeared to have the makings of a tight defensive battle. It didn't happen.With the score tied at 2-2 midway through the second half, Hannibal chased down a bouncing ball by Michele Clawson and beat an aggressive Backof coming out of the net to score on the empty net."

Police charged a Columbia man with first-degree murder yesterday in the violent death of a 6-year-old boy who had been his houseguest for about two months.Anthony Lee Crawford, 31, of the 5100 block of Brook Way is being held in the county Detention Center in lieu of $250,000 bail for a child abuse charge filed Tuesday.He will appear in court this morning for a bond hearing on the murder charge.Police said early autopsy findings show that the child died of "blunt force trauma to the head," and that he may have been sexually abused.