Lady 'Rines Handle Northwood, Move to Second Round of State Playoffs

Maybe they were emotionally spent after Tuesday’s knockdown, drag-out game against powerhouse Gaithersburg. Maybe it was the coaches of their likely next opponent watching from the crowd. Maybe it was just a case of playoff jitters.

Whatever the cause, Watkins Mill came out flat in their first-round game of the state playoffs Friday night, at home against Northwood. Facing a squad that only dressed six players, the Lady ‘Rines didn’t score until a Josepha Mbouma free throw more than three minutes into the game.

But then Jasmine McRoy, as she has done throughout her stellar career at Watkins Mill, caught fire from beyond the arc, draining a three-pointer from the corner a few seconds later. The senior nailed two more triples to go with one from junior guard Jewell Johnson as Watkins Mill took a 13-4 lead into the second period.

Though that margin was never seriously threatened on the way to a 44-32 win, Watkins Mill couldn’t quite put the game out of reach, either.

Northwood’s Janelle Silver came alive in the second quarter, driving to the hoop time and again as the Gladiators withered the lead down to four points halfway through the third quarter.

Ivan Hicks, Watkins Mill’s ever-demonstrative coach, was especially flustered on the sideline as he exhorted his players to ratchet up their defensive press and to move the ball more decisively on offense.

After another driving layup from Janelle Silver cut Watkins Mill’s lead to 23-19, the Wolverines’ three-quarter-court defense started to click, forcing Northwood into a torrent of turnovers. While Josepha Mbouma and Jewell Johnson pressured Northwood’s ball-handlers in the backcourt, McRoy stalked the open floor ready to pounce on any errant or ill-advised pass. She didn’t score in the quarter but had a half-dozen steals that turned into fast-break opportunities the other way, several of them for Jartu Toweh, the team’s second leading scorer this season.

McRoy followed her defensive-minded third quarter by pouring in 11 fourth-quarter points—including her fifth three-pointer—to end with 25 on the night.

McRoy and Toweh were fresh off being named Thursday night to the Montgomery 3A/2A West all-conference team. McRoy was also picked for the county’s all-star team, voted by coaches as the third-best player in the school system, Hicks said, while Toweh narrowly missed making the 10-player squad.

While the team showed flashes of dominance Friday night, Hicks was frustrated by the inconsistent play: the offense struggled with its ball rotation and the defense was repeatedly exposed by Janelle Silver’s quick first step.

"For some reason, we weren’t focused from the beginning of the game," Hicks said. "There was some intensity in spurts throughout the game, but it was not one of our better games."

The team will focus on rebounding, defense and taking high-percentage shots in preparation for their second-round game Tuesday night. In Hicks’s three previous years at Watkins Mill, the Lady ‘Rines won their first-round game but not their second.

Watkins Mill faces the winner of Saturday’s match-up between Blake and Einstein. If Blake wins, Watkins Mill heads to Silver Spring on Tuesday. Blake thumped Einstein by 30 points two weeks ago.

Watkins Mill: 44 points

Jasmine McRoy 25

Jartu Toweh 8

Josepha Mbouma 4

Janessa Fauntroy 4

Jewell Johnson 3

Northwood: 32 points

Janelle Silver 11

Christina Atakora 8

Vanessa Stretchen 7

Michaela Jupiter 2

Alix McAtee 2

Elizabeth Ung 2