No. 1 women’s basketball 1 Pikesville used tenacious defense to earn a 47-30 win over Dulaney
One week after Pikesville senior Mariah Jones-Bey scored her 1,000th career point, she was part of the workman-like Panther defense that sparked a 47-30 win at Dulaney on Friday.
That defense was sparked by NyJae Malik-El (12 points) who sparked a 7-0 run with five steals early in the third quarter that turned a 12-point halftime lead into a 39-17 advantage at the next intermission.
“We always say defense comes first and our offense goes with it,” said Jones-Bey, who scored eight of her 10 points in the third quarter. “We talked about us really playing defense and not making a lot of attempts to reach out and try to get stops and that’s what we did today with a lot of energy.”
Dulaney’s only field goal of the quarter was a 3-pointer from Gabby Watson, who scored a team-high 12 points, with two minutes remaining in the quarter.
“They were going 7-0 and I was thinking, ‘We can’t do that right now.’ Dulaney coach Kourtney Lewis-Orr said.
“We actually felt comfortable with our defense at halftime, but from some of the betting and some of the fouls, we just had to stay a little more disciplined, because the first time we played them, they were ahead at halftime, so we knew their three guards were tough,” Pikesville coach Michael Dukes said.
Both of Dulaney’s losses came by 17 points to the 12-1 Panthers, the closest a Baltimore County team had come all season.
“I admire the program. I admire the coaching staff, always have,” Lewis-Orr said. “So I followed them, I checked their scores and we kept their scores low all season. So I think that’s something we should be proud of.”
Pikesville got off to a strong start thanks to strong interior play from Maya Chase, who scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the first quarter.
“She started out with a little bit of difficulty, but Maya started to find herself,” Jones-Bey said. “Everyone was proud of him today. He played like his normal self, made big plays, showed people they couldn’t guard him, scored points, finished free throws. That was it.”
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Both defenses stiffened in the second quarter as Pikesville outscored the Lions, 7-6. Torunn Spencer scored four of her seven points in the quarter for Dulaney (6-6), which struggled to score all night.
“If we could have gotten a few more shots and layups, it would have been a different ball game,” Lewis-Orr said.
A 22-point deficit in the third quarter was too big to overcome for the Lions and both teams utilized their benches in the final quarter.
“It was a good win,” Dukes said. “I think we probably could have scored more goals, but you could see we used a lot of young players.”
Another tough loss against another tough opponent for Dulaney, but Lewis-Orr magnified the positives.
“It wasn’t a bad loss. I thought we played hard. I thought we played well,” he said.
A night to remember
When Jones-Bay scored his 1,000th career point on January 16 against Hereford, emotions were palpable throughout the team and Pikesville fans.
“Everyone was cheering for me. Everyone was excited, screaming and running onto the field to show their love for me,” Jones-Bey said. “My teammates were crying. It was a good moment for me. I really enjoyed it.”
Tears flowed for Jones-Bey and Dukes even rode an emotional wave. It wasn’t pressure that made him lead.
“I would say excitement,” Jones-Bey said. “Everyone really wants me to get there. They want me to really get to 1,000 points and you wouldn’t expect everyone to be excited for me, but everyone is excited for me, so I really love everyone.”
She joins Charia Roberts as Pikesville’s only other 1,000-point scorers. Dukes greatly appreciated his four years in the program.
“I’ve seen this kid grow since he came in as a freshman,” Dukes said. “We brought him off the bench and at some point we said we had to get him in here because we were struggling at that position and he was the most natural point guard we had, so we put him in there. And then the maturation continued. I mean, I can’t think of many high school kids who have had better careers.”
Have a news tip? Contact Craig Clary at cclary@baltsun.com and x.com/ClaryCraig.
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