By Andy States
SMAC Content Manager
As the final seconds of the first half ticked off the clock, Calvert's Kacie Collins received the ball, spun around and banked in the go-ahead bucket as the buzzer sounded. There was still a half to play, but the field goal essentially won the game for the Cavaliers.
Calvert freshman Rachel Loube scored the first nine points of the second half as the Cavaliers shut out the visiting McDonough Rams 16-0 in the third quarter and went on to a 59-40 conference win on Monday night. Loube led all scorers with 20 points, while Tiara Lester added 13, 11 of which came in the second half, and Jo'nel Barnes scored another 10.
The win was the ninth in the last 10 games for Calvert (12-3, 8-1). McDonough (6-8, 3-5) had won three of four heading into Monday night's contest, but previously lost to Calvert last Wednesday by a 49-35 count.
The Cavaliers got off to a fast start on Monday, building a 14-6 lead after an Alyssa Carman field goal with 2 minutes 8 seconds left in the opening quarter. From that point, the Rams chipped away throughout the half and eventually tied the game at 23 on Chelsea Flowers' bucket in the final minute of the first half. Flowers and Brittany McCollum, who led the visitors with 13 on the game, each scored nine points in the opening half to pull the Rams close by the break.
Unfortunately for McDonough, Calvert started to make good on its opportunities in the third quarter.
"The third quarter we came out really strong," Loube said.
Loube kick off the half's scoring with a three-point play and proceeded to score the game's next three baskets, as well. Lester then took over to score six of the quarter's final seven points, all while the Rams were being held scoreless.
But while the Cavaliers effectively put the game away with the third-quarter shutout, Calvert coach Frank Moore believed the primary improvement was on the offensive end.
"We played well in the first half. We just couldn't score," said Moore, citing many forced turnovers but a poor shooting percentage. "Second half we capitalized on a lot of those turnovers. Then we got back into our zone and [McDonough] had a hard time scoring.
"I bet you if you look at the turnovers we caused in the first half it was just as many as we caused in the second half. We just didn't convert. I think the difference in the game was the shots we were missing in the first half we made in the second half."
McDonough finally changed the number on its side of the scoreboard at the 7:34 mark of the fourth quarter when Chieva Flowers converted a pair of free throws. But at that stage Calvert's lead stood at a comfortable 41-25, and the Rams were not able to muster more than trading baskets with Calvert for the game's duration.
McDonough's schedule gets no easier going forward, as the Rams are scheduled to square off against Great Mills, Westlake and North Point over their next three games -- meaning that the Rams are forced to face four of the conference's top teams consecutively.
Similarly, Calvert is about to embark on its own difficult stretch of schedule. With one SMAC loss through nine conference games, the Cavaliers are locked in an upper tier of teams hoping to take a crack at winning the SMAC title. But if Calvert is to pull it off, with a team that has three freshmen playing a vital role, it must do so the hard way -- primarily on the road.
Calvert is scheduled to play at Westlake on Wednesday, then hosts Leonardtown -- also 8-1 in conference -- on Friday. Down the road Calvert must travel to Great Mills on Feb. 4 and North Point on Feb. 18. So if the Cavaliers manage to find a way into the SMAC fray, it will be earned.
The lone blemish on Calvert's conference mark came in a 35-24 loss to Lackey that saw the Cavaliers shoot a miserable 18 percent from the floor -- an outing that cannot be repeated if the team is going to have any shot at knocking off the teams it will see down the stretch.
"We have to win on the road," Moore said. "We have to shoot the ball a little bit better than what we're doing. Defensively, we have to play a little better defense, keep the intensity up.
"We have a lot of kids going through this for the first time. If we are fortunate enough to win the thing we have to win it on the road."
Calvert 59, McDonough 40
M 12 11 0 17
C 16 9 16 18
McDonough: McCollum 2 8-8 13; Che. Flowers 3 3-5 9; Johnson 3 0-0 8; Smith 2 0-0 4; Myrick 1 0-1 3; Chi. Flowers 0 2-2 2; Bridges 0 1-2 1
Calvert: Loube 9 2-3 20; Lester 5 3-5 13; Barnes 3 4-4 10; Carman 2 1-3 5; Parker 1 3-4 5; Seay 1 2-2 4; Collins 1 0-0 2
Three-pointers: McDonough 4 (Johnson 2, Myrick, McCollum)
astates@digitalsports.com
