The Elkton girls basketball team nipped Harford Tech 47-45 in the second round of the region tournament Tuesday, February 27. The Elks led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter and still held an eight-point edge with 3:29 remaining in the game.
Tech tallied six straight points over the next minute to make it a game. "I'm getting too old for this," Elkton coach Chris Dunn joked. "I knew Harford Tech was going to make a run at us. They always do. Both teams know each other very well. They mirror each other in their abilities…We got in foul trouble. We had to work the bench, but they overcame. They've been doing it a lot for me lately. And I told you, they don't get rattled as much as I do." After Elkton's Zaria Tatem hit a pair of free throws, the Cobras converted a free throw and basket to narrow the gap to 46-45 with 36 seconds to go. Elkton called a timeout with 17.8 ticks left and then committed a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds play. Tech missed a potential go-ahead shot, but got the ball back when the possession arrow pointed the visitors' way after a tie-up on the rebound. The Cobras missed another shot and Elkton got the rebound. Tatem made one free throw with 5.1 seconds and Vanessa Dunn (nine points) intercepted a pass to seal the deal. "I was nervous at first but now I'm glad my team came together and played as a group," Tatem said. "And I'm glad we came together and we got ourselves back together after folding like that." Tatem scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter to help the Elks fend off the Cobras' comeback bid. "They were quicker than us and we started to lose our head and get frustrated," said Tatem. "But at the end we came together and started building each other up again and kept a positive attitude." Tatem's three free throws proved to be the difference. "It was big," said Chris Dunn. "Like I keep saying, she's a baby (sophomore). I'm bringing her along the best I can. I give her everything that I think she can handle. Sometimes she gets a little emotional on me. We take a timeout, she comes back in and she plays well. I've got high hopes for her. The other girls [around her are mature]. They're all embracing her and want her to be a success." Courtney Hardy had nine of her 12 points in the first quarter as Elkton built a 17-9 lead. It was a stark contrast to the regular season meeting between the schools on February 14. In that contest, Harford Tech stormed out to a 10-0 lead. Similarly, the Elks had to stop the Cobras in the final seconds to secure that victory. "We worked hard on concentrating to get out in front," said Chris Dunn. "We planned on getting in front and putting them away a little early, but they hung with us a little better than I thought they would. We were fortunate enough to hang on there at the end." Comments are closed.
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