Poly High girls' basketball team gained a second straight trip to the state Final Four with a victory over City College in the 2A North Region finals Friday evening. The Engineers will play either Wednesday or Friday in a state 2A semifinal game at UMBC.
Poly High girls’ basketball coach Kendall Peace said her team likes to get her worked up during a game before performing well. There wasn’t a need Friday afternoon as the Engineers’ play did all the talking.
The No. 19 Engineers defended their Class 2A North Region championship with a 49-38 decision over top-seed and No. 8 City College. Poly returns to UMBC either Wednesday or Friday for a state semifinal matchup with either Parkside or Wicomico.
Senior guard Breonna Brewer scored 20 points to lead Poly (19-6), and Shenika Johnson added 12. Carissa Williams led City (22-3) with 11 points and junior forward Victoria Mitchell had 10.
The second-seeded Engineers used an 11-0 fourth quarter run to avenge a regular season loss to their traditional archrival. After losing several starters from last year’s Final Four squad, Poly wanted to prove last season wasn’t a fluke.
“To do something twice is really important, and they showed some resilience,” said Peace, who will guide her alma-mater to a third Final Four, following a state volleyball appearance in the fall. “My kids don’t like play all year, they like for me to jump up and down, scream, then they turn it on in the end.”
“Even though we lost a lot of players we’re still successful as we were before,” said Brewer. “We’re not going to lose our momentum; we’re going to keep it going.”
After the Knights got within 36-33 in the final session, Imani Stokes started the decisive run with a layup off a pass from Shenika Johnson, followed by a pair of free throws by Brewer. A steal and layup by Cynthia Johnson pushed to lead to 42-33.
Brewer, who scored eight points in the fourth, capped the surge with a layup. Peace said Brewer has come full circle in her fourth varsity season.
“When she came she was scrappy and quick, and nothing has changed with that. The only thing that’s change is the window has opened,” said Peace. “She’s listening to everything and she believes.”
Brewer said the Engineers did better job handling City’s pressure after the Knights posted a 59-44 victory. The Alameda school used a 22-9 third quarter as LaShay Taft scored a game-high 20 points.
Taft, a sophomore guard, played all but one minute as she was inadvertently hit in the mouth and lost a couple of teeth, according to Knights’ coach George Petrides. He said Taft’s absence didn’t have an effect as much as Poly’s effort down the stretch.
“They got us on some offensive rebounds that I was disappointed with,” said Petrides, who had no seniors on his roster this season. “We were one run short. They were good from the foul line. What else can you say…it’s the City-Poly game.”
While the Engineers cherished the victory, their hardest challenge awaits at UMBC’s Retriever Athletic Center. A year ago, Poly lost to Southern-Anne Arundel in the state semifinals.
“I hope I don’t have to take tissues with this time and dry all the wet faces,” said Peace. “This is an opportunity.”
2A North Region championship
Poly 49, City College 38
Poly: Brewer 20, Clayton 2, C. Johnson 11, S. Johnson 12, Stokes 4. Totals 13 23-28 49.
City: Williams 11, Barksdale 5, Sewell 2, Mitchell 10, Giles 5, Dawson 4. Totals 13 8-16 38. Halftime: Tied at 17.
Poly 8 9 17 15-49
City 7 10 11 10-38