Middletown girls have off day in tournament loss to Bethesda-Chevy Chase

John Cannon, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·2 min read

Dec. 28—MIDDLETOWN — After stealing the ball on the defensive side of the floor, Middletown girls basketball player Bre Lawyer quickly dribbled down the court and hit a layup without even using the backboard.

Not a bad way to score her team's first basket of the night. The only problem was, that first basket came with 7 minutes, 5 seconds left in the second quarter, and the Knights would make just three field goals in the first half.

Middletown never recovered from its sluggish start against Bethesda-Chevy Chase, losing 54-27 in the Ron Engle Classic.

The Knights (3-3) have seen signs of potential during the first month of the season. They beat Boonsboro, South Carroll and Tuscarora. And before Tuesday, their only losses came to two of Frederick County's top teams, Urbana and Catoctin, with the latter being a 46-43 thriller.

But against B-CC, the Knights never got into any sort of flow on offense or defense.

"I don't remember a time where we have come out so flat like that," said Knights coach Kara Nelson, whose team has been dealing with sickness and injuries, although she didn't see that as an excuse. "Our effort and energy was not here today."

Middletown was plagued by turnovers, missed shots, defensive miscues and B-CC offensive rebounds, which allowed the Barons to pile up multi-shot possessions, including a four-shot one ended by Jaylin Harried's putback midway through the first quarter.

"It was just a grouping of everything," Nelson said. "Whatever you want to call it. All of it landed on us today."

Middletown's defense had trouble containing players like Frances Doyle, who broke out a couple nice takes and finished with a game-high 14 points, and Sasha Barr and Zoe Posner, who both had 11 points. Barr nailed three 3-pointers, including two launched from well behind the arc.

On the other end of the floor, the Knights often had trouble getting good looks.

The good thing is, it's still December, so the Knights have plenty of time to correct issues that cropped up Tuesday. They're also seeing young players like 5-foot-10 freshman point forward Talia Jenkins, who started Tuesday, gain valuable experience.

"The team has welcomed me," she said. "It has been a battle in practices, working my way up."

Jenkins had team-highs of seven points and seven rebounds. Kate DeGrange had six rebounds. Lawyer had three steals.