Ibex

During the 13-1 start by the Western Maryland women's basketball team, observers pointed toward last night as the time to determine whether the sparkling record was the product of genuine talent or of a featherweight schedule.The lie detector was Johns Hopkins, four-time defending champion in the Centennial Conference's Western Division, Division III quarterfinalist the past two years and the third-ranked team in the Mideast region. But against their toughest test of the season, the Green Terror proved to be the truth, beating the Blue Jays, 63-50, in front of 574 at the Gill Center in Westminster.

Westminster High School presented awards to its graduating seniors during the farewell assembly June 6 and commencement exercises June 8. Awards and recipients were:Rotary Award to Elizabeth Anne Carpenter and Matthew Billingslea.Mark Ewell Causey Memorial Award to Jill Ibex.Danforth Award to David Andrews Shoffner and Jamie Reinhart.Sandy Nininger Award to David Nathaniel Malehorn.American Legion Award to Adam D'Anthony and Bridget Anne Geiman.American Legion Carroll Post 31 Award to Amanda Louise Boyd.

Bernard E. Ibex, 76, city firefighterBernard E. Ibex, a former city firefighter who founded the Baltimore City Retired Fire Officers & Firefighters Association, died of a cerebral hemorrhage Friday at Sinai Hospital. He was 76.Mr. Ibex, who lived in Lutherville, joined the Baltimore Fire Department in 1942 and retired in 1965. He then became a safety inspector for the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Board of the state Department of Labor and Industry and retired in 1982.In 1968, he founded the Baltimore City Retired Fire Officers & Firefighters Association and served as its president until 1974.

Coach of the YearAlice Smith, Francis Scott Key: In her third season, Smith provided Francis Scott Key with its first Class 1A state title and the county's second girls championship. The 1977-78 South Carroll team was the first to accomplish the feat. A quick look at how Smith's players systematically handled the Mardela full-court press in Friday's state semifinal game gave a good indication of the Eagles' preparation. Their 25-3 season, concluding with a convincing 53-23 win over Northern-Garrettt in Saturday's final, was the best record for a Francis Scott Key basketball team.

GAITHERSBURG -- The Westminster Owls each took turns stepping up at one time or another in their well-earned 52-50 win over Watkins Mill last night, sending them to the Class 4A West final.Junior guard Amy Lewis came off the bench to supply instant offense with eight points in the second quarter after the Owls (19-6) scored only four points in the entire first quarter.Later, with the Owls protecting a two-point lead in the game's final minute, she pulled down three key rebounds.Senior center Jill Ibex, banged up with minor injuries after a car accident going to school in the rain and fog on Wednesday, scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Senior Jill Ibex scored 26 points as visiting and 16th-ranked Westminster (17-6) defeated Seneca Valley (16-7) of Montgomery County, 68-58, in a state Class 4A West region first-round game last night.On Monday, Westminster will play host to Paint Branch in a region quarterfinal game.In other first-round region games yesterday:Western 81, Southern-Baltimore 5: Marion Moore had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight steals as No. 13 Western (20-3) romped in Class 4A North. The Doves led 28-1 after one quarter and 59-1 at halftime.

It was four years ago when the Westminster-South Carroll girls basketball rivalry reached a higher level.The Owls' Jill Ibex and South Carroll's Ce Wagener -- both senior centers now -- were learning from the likes of former standouts Beth Lister and Nicole Spencer. Since, it's always been these two teams a notch better than the rest in the county.Last night in Westminster, the two teams went at it for a final time this season. Ten seniors started the game, and after the No. 16 Owls avenged an earlier loss to the No. 10 Cavs with a 51-44 win, there was a degree of closure.

When two good teams -- evenly matched and big rivals -- get together to play some ball, the game usually comes down to which one wants it more.That was the case last night in Winfield with the No. 14 Westminster Owls visiting No. 12 South Carroll.The evidence was spread out throughout the night, but most apparent on a single possession underneath the South Carroll basket midway through the fourth quarter.Cavaliers senior point guard Lindsey Vosloh grabbed a teammate's missed free throw, put up a shot and missed, kept it alive twice more before senior center Ce Wagener tapped it in.It was the Cavaliers who got to all the loose balls, grabbed all the big rebounds and played the aggressive defense to come away with a solid 45-35 win against a Westminster team that looked puzzled most of the night.

Westminster's disruptive defense was there from the start yesterday afternoon at Howard High.And when the No. 18 Owls' offense also got cranked up late in the second quarter and in the early part of the third, it was simply too much for a young Lions team to handle.With contributions from every player who stepped on the floor, Westminster came away with a 57-48 win over No. 14 Howard.A 9-0 run at the end of the first half gave the Owls (2-0) a 26-20 lead at the break, and it carried over into the third quarter as they pulled away to a 15-point lead.

With every season, Westminster senior standout Jill Ibex has expanded her game.The 6-foot tall center was moved up to varsity three games into her freshman season and averaged six points and five rebounds, playing a defensive role off the bench.As a sophomore on a senior-laden team, she became a starter and showed signs of the complete player she has become, finishing the season averaging 10.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal a game.Last year as the go-to player, her numbers rose again: 14 points and 11 rebounds a game with 90 blocked shots, 49 assists and 38 steals.