RAIDERS READY TO RUN TO ANOTHER TITLE

by Derek Toney

The motto for last season's Atholton High girls' basketball team could've been, "Catch us, if you can." The Raiders' uptempo style was able to get them across the ultimate finish line, the Class 2A state championship.

Heading into 2007-08, Atholton has its laces tightened again. With their entire starting roster nearly intact, the Raiders are looking to make another championship run.

"We play nine in December games and we're trying to take it a little bit at a time," said Atholton coach Maureen Shacreaw, who has nine returning letterwinners. "We have to get through the county schedule. Our goal is the same, win the county and take it from there."

The Raiders will have one of the area's most experience squads with seniors Elie Snyder, Taylor Chapman, Julianne Conroy and Brittany Coughlan returning to the starting lineup. Snyder, a 5 foot, eight inch guard, and 5-11 Chapman have started since their freshman year.

"They've done a lot great job so far in the leadership that they've showed. They've put up a lot of minutes in four years," said Shacreaw of her four seniors. "When they graduated in the spring, they'll walk out as Atholton's most successful girls' basketball class."

"Everyone has something special to offer. Elie is a great shooter, Julianne is good on defense and Taylor is strong rebounding," said Coughlan, who will play basketball for Berry College next year. "We've been playing together for so long, everything is just in sync."

The Raiders dethroned River Hill as Howard County champions, the school's first title in 17 seasons. Trailing Southern Anne-Arundel by nine points in the fourth quarter, Atholton went on a 21-1 run to rally for a 69-62 triumph and the school's first basketball championship. The victory atoned for the Raiders' 2006 Final Four trip, when they failed to hold a double-digit lead in the second half and lost to Milford Mill in the 2A semifinals.

"From the beginning of the season, we knew what we wanted to do," said Coughlan. "It was hard because Julie [Taylor, Atholton senior guard] was leaving and we wanted to make her last season special because she had done so much for the program."

"There was a lot of disappointment, but I don't think they could see the accomplishment in the sense of getting there," said Shacreaw. "The deal last year was we couldn't be satisfied in getting there, we had to go one step further."

Shacreaw said Atholton wore down in its 2006 defeat. The Raiders dedicated theirselves to conditioning last season, and played relentlessly on both ends of the court.
 
"By the end of the year, we were pressing the full 32 minutes, that's where our conditioning had got us to," said Shacreaw. "They blew me away with the amount of running that they did. Somehow, we've made ourselves a faster team than we had last year."

"It also a lot of determination especially wanting to get back to where we've been the past two years," said Coughlan. "We've put a lot on ourselves, you want to work as hard as you can to get back to states, get back to the county championship."

The Raiders know the path for a possible repeat will be difficult, first completing in the tough Howard County league then moving into the 3A ranks and facing some new teams in the East Region. Shacreaw said motivation won't be a problem this season.

"It's really easy on me, the expectations are there and they set it everyday," said Shacreaw. "They know what they want, they know how hard they work last year."

Said Coughlan, "We won't change our game plan, we're going to give 110-percent."

2007-08 Atholton roster
Taylor Chapman, senior, 5-11, center
Julianne Conroy, senior, 5-7, guard
Amber Cook, sophomore, guard
Brittany Coughlan, senior, 5-8, guard
Leeza Hayes, junior, 5-9, guard
Katie Mann, sophomore, guard
Allie Mitzner, sophomore, 5-7, forward
Sam Mroczka, junior, 5-4, guard
Jennifer Shacreaw, junior, 5-8, guard
Bridgett Snyder, freshman, guard
Elie Snyder, senior, 5-8, forward
Lorri Toler, senior, 6-1, center

2007-08 schedule
Dec. 6 at Joppatowne, 7
Dec. 7 at Centennial, 7
Dec. 10 Wilde Lake, 5:30
Dec. 12 at Howard, 5:30
Dec. 14 at Glenelg, 7
Dec. 17 Reservoir, 5:30
Dec. 19 at Marriotts Ridge, 5:30
Dec. 27-28 at Pine Grove (Pa.) High Tournament, TBA
Jan. 4 River Hill, 7
Jan. 9 at Oakland Mills, 5:30
Jan. 11 at Mount Hebron, 7
Jan. 23 Long Reach, 5:30
Jan. 25 Centennial, 7
Jan. 28 at Poolesville, 7
Jan. 30 at Wilde Lake, 5:30
Feb. 1 Howard, 7
Feb. 5 Glenelg, 5:30
Feb. 7 at Reservoir, 5:30
Feb. 11 Marriotts Ridge, 5:30
Feb. 14 at River Hill, 5:30
Feb. 20 Hammond, 5:30