Seton Keough

Melanie Morris had the skill to contain one of the Catholic League's better players, the poise to make two critical free throws, and the luck to avoid being burned by an untimely foul.And in the end, she had one of her biggest wins since coming to Seton Keough, scoring 22 points to lead the 10th-ranked Gators past No. 8 St. Mary's, 54-53, in Annapolis.Morris, a 5-foot-7 junior, hit twice from the line with 14 seconds remaining for a 54-51 lead. She then fouled Kris Miller as the Saints' guard attempted a shot from beyond the arc with three seconds left, giving her a chance to tie the game.

For Seton Keough midfielder Amy Fronckoski, the developments early in the first half of yesterday's Catholic League B Division title game came as a pleasant surprise.After kicking a direct kick from about 25 yards out 12 minutes, 47 seconds into the game, the senior turned around and prepared to run back downfield in anticipation of the goalie's kick.Only moments later did she realize that she actually had scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the Gators' 1-0 win over Severn at Patterson Park's Utz Field.

Third-ranked Seton Keough (3-1), the defending Baltimore Catholic League champion, continued its trek through the top teams in the metro area with a 39-33 victory at No. 4 Severna Park (0-2) last night.Meghann Donovan (15 points) and the Gators' other returning starters -- Amanda Foster, Charity Carbine and Melanie Morris -- combined for 31 points.The Gators' only loss was to nationally ranked Elizabeth Seton of Washington by 15 points. "We've played the top two teams in the Catholic League and shown some progress," said Severna Park coach Kevin McGrath whose girls dropped a 42-36 overtime decision at No. 5 St. Mary's on Tuesday.

With two good pitchers on varsity and another on junior varsity, Seton Keough softball coach Chris Ashby thought the Gators were set for the season. Instead, he found himself without a single pitcher for last week's game against Mount de Sales.The trouble started before the season opener when junior was diagnosed with mono and sidelined for the season. Freshman Jessica Rock stepped in and pitched wins over Catholic (15-9) and IND (8-6).Then Rock got sick, so Ashby brought sophomore LaurenStevens up from JV. Before the next game, Stevens broke her hand playing club volleyball.

St. Frances played with intensity from start to finish in Wednesday night's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference game at Seton Keough. The Panthers were especially tough on the offensive boards, where they created numerous scoring chances. Top-ranked St. Frances scored 22 points after offensive rebounds, a big reason the Panthers pulled out a 51-35 victory over No. 5 Seton Keough, their second win against the Gators this season. Briana Hutchen led St. Frances (13-3, 6-1)

There was no mystery about Seton Keough's strategy entering the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference volleyball championship at Roland Park on Friday night. It was another night of feed the monster. The Monster - otherwise known as senior outside hitter Ijeoma Igwe - delivered, giving the No. 3 Gators their first-ever IAAM championship in volleyball with a victory over defending champion Archbishop Spalding, 27-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-18. Igwe finished with 21 kills on the night.

Whenever Archbishop Spalding and Seton Keough meet, you're going to see a lot more defense than offense. Sunday afternoon, the No. 1 Cavaliers used strong inside defense against No. 2 Seton Keough's superior height to come away with a 49-36 victory, their second this season over the host Gators in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference. Spalding forwards Shaquilla Curtis, Sherae Swinson and Camille Calhoun — none taller than 6 feet — countered 6-foot-4 Liz Brown and strong 6-foot-1 Achiri Ade, holding them to 21 combined points.

Visiting No. 5 North County got its regular softball season off to a great start Wednesday. Pitcher Brittany Jones pitched a one-hitter and Nicole Merriman started a four-hit, five run rally as the Knights upset No. 1 Seton Keough, 6-1. Jones drove in three runs with a double for North County (1-0), which next travels to Northeast on Friday at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers fell to 5-6. Tied at 1 after the first inning, the Knights scored five runs in the third and held on to win. No. 2 Archbishop Spalding 4, Chesapeake-AA 2: Freshman right-hander Ali Caulkins picked up her first win of the season, pitching seven innings and striking out two for the host Cavaliers (1-1)