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Chanae Shorter steals the ball and goes the distance for the bucket in the first half of Surrattsville's 51-43 win over Pocomoke on Friday night.
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Click 'videos' above to watch the highlights and press conference from the game

By Andy States
Digital Sports Content Manager

Just minutes after stepping off the court in Friday's 51-43 1A semifinal win over the Pocomoke Warriors at UMBC's RAC Arena, Surrattsville's BreAnna Gross recounted the moment when the Hornets started to grow in to what they have become.
 
Back on Jan. 29, the Hornets lost to Prince George's County rival Largo by a point. But it was at that point that the team decided it had to win out. In 11 games since, the Hornets have succeeded, and including Friday's state semifinal, only three games have been decided by less than 10 points.

Against Pocomoke (25-2), Surrattsville (22-3) led by double digits for much of the game -- and by as many as 23 points early in the fourth period -- on the way to earning its first state final berth. Surrattsville plays Digital Harbor at 6 p.m. on Saturday at RAC Arena for the 1A title.

The Hornets defense was suffocating from the tip, limiting the Warriors to just 12 points in the first half and single-digit output in each of the first three quarters. Not until 3 minutes 38 seconds were left in the game did anyone not named Deyonna Parker or Whitney King score for Pocomoke, and by then Surrattsville's place in the state final was secure.

"That's one thing we focus on, the defense," Surrattsville coach Demario Newman said. "I think we did an excellent job of doing that."

Pocomoke, which has reached the state semifinals seven straight seasons and was the defending 1A champ, never led. Surrattsville's trio of Chanae Shorter, BreAnna Gross and Endia Hill combined for 14 first-quarter points to build a 14-7 lead and the Hornets never looked back.

"It was imperative that we got off to a good start," Newman said. "Like I always talk about, we have to set the tempo early. When you have a team down you have to hold the gas and don't let up."

Shorter started the scoring at the 6:26 mark, and was successful in consistenly penetrating through the Warriors' zone and opening the court up for her teammates. The Hornets extended their lead to 27-12 by the half.

"It's kind of like if I start to drive," Shorter said, "other players will get open."

Pocomoke deperately needed to open the second half on fire. That didn't happen.

Gross scored the first two buckets of the half as the Hornets opened with a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 32-12. Not until King's basket with 4:53 left in the quarter were the Warriors able to score.

"We wanted to make a run, obviously, as soon as we came out on the floor," Pocomoke coach Gail Gladding siad. "It just didn't happen and we're not a fantastic pressing team. It was a little scary with their ball handlers to try to go into the press."

The Warriors were able to find some enough success in the final frame to create some turnovers and tidy up the score, cutting the final margin to eight points on King's three-pointer just before the buzzer. Unfortunately for them, the game had already been decided. Pocomoke, which after seven consecutive trips to the state stage is quite familiar with with the trip over from Worcester County, had just three seniors on a roster that featured four sophomores.

"I think we played tenatively in the first half," Gladding said. "We didn't play our game in the first half and they played super. They had good rebounding. They moved the ball up the floor well. They picked the zone apart in the first. They just played a great game and we just played tenative."

Surrattsville hopes the third time is the charm. After unsuccessful trips to UMBC the past two seasons, the Hornets now have the chance to earn a state championship against a team they lost to in the regular season. Surrattsville lost to Digital Harbor in its opener back on Dec. 8 by a 54-43 count.

But the team Digital Harbor will face on Saturday night is a different team than it faced three months ago, according to Gross.

"When I came here I felt like we were going to take it," said Gross, who transferred into the school this year. "At the beginning of the season we weren't really together, but as the season started going forward we gelled."

And for Shorter, a senior that has waited three years to advance to a state final, there was just one thought on her mind.

"I just want to get on the floor and play," she said.

Surrattsville 51, Pocomoke 43
P    7    5    8    23
S    14    13    11    13
Pocomoke: Parker 10 1-3 22, King 4 5-8 15, Sturgis 1 2-2 4, Tapman 1 0-0 2
Surrattsville: Gross 7 1-3 16, Hill 5 5-8 15, Shorter 4 3-4 11, Perry 1 1-2 3, Simmons 1 1-3 3, Evans 1 0-1 2, Johnson 0 1-2 1
Three-pointers Pocomoke 3 (King 2, Parker), Surrattsville 1 (Gross)

astates@digitalsports.com