The Middletown High School girls basketball team went into the “Lion’s Den” and upset Walkersville High School in the 2A West Quarterfinal by a score of 51-37. The No.8 seed Knights upset the No.1 seed Lions in a game that saw high paced action and physical play all around.
The tone of the game was set from the start with Middletown senior Caitlin McLister running the length of the court on what appeared to be an easy lay-up only to have the shot blocked by Walkersville senior Tyra Hughes.
The play seemed to fire up the Knights as they started to gain momentum taking the lead on the strength of eight points from Middletown senior Brittney George, going up 12-8 after the first quarter. George was especially effective in the paint, forcing her way in and converting shots under the bucket sinceWalkersville got into foul trouble early and was forced to be less aggressive.
The Lions would come storming back in the second quarter with Walkersville center Lara Long getting offensive rebounds and putting them back in forcing Middletown to play tighter under the basket. The Lions ball movement helped put Long in a better position to score the ball.
The Knights also struggled offensively in the second quarter, allowing the Walkersville student section to provide a formidable home field advantage. Both teams played extremely physical in the first half. It seemed as though both teams fed off the energy that the crowd was producing.
In the third quarter the Knights came out running gaining a four point lead early in the quarter and extending the lead to seven points with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
It appeared as though that may have been the last blow the Lions could take, but Long and shooting guard Dani Medovich helped orchestrate a small offensive attack that helped the Lions get back in the game.
Again it was McLister who came up big for the Knights with another key block this time on Medovich that helped set the pace for the Knights fourth quarter.
The Knights came out “guns blazing” in the fourth quarter with Middletown junior Jess Racz and McLister hitting crucial three pointers to open it up. From then on out, there was no turning back for the Knights as they out-hustled and out-muscled the Lions in the final quarter, outscoring the Lions 17-6 in the fourth quarter.
When the Lions had a chance to get back in the game with free throw shooting, they could not get going with a dismal 3 of 9 from the line. One of the bigger reasons for the Knights success was the suffocating defense on Tyra Hughes who was the Lions leading scorer but had only six points and was virtually ineffective.
The Knights will head to Carroll County tonight to take on the Century High School Girls Basketball team in the 2A West Semifinal.
Player of the Game: Middletown Sr. Caitlin McLister- 25 points, 2 blocks, 3 steals, 7 assists.
2A West Quarterfinal Scores: #4 Century defeats #12 Francis Scott Key 51-38; #3 South Carroll defeats #6 Liberty 55-36; #2 Poolesville defeats #7 Oakdale 50-44.
