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By James A. McCray III
Prince George's County, Content Manager
As shots went into the Eleanor Roosevelt Lady Raiders' gym air Friday night, no pair of eyes concentrated on each shot more than Roosevelt's Olivia Applewhite.
Applewhite, with her eyes fixated on the shots floating through the air, positioned herself neatly between the basket and opposing Bowie defenders to pull down 20 rebounds in a 60-40 victory over the visiting Bowie Lady Bulldogs.
"That's my main job on the team," Applewhite said of rebounding the ball. " ... I just look at it like it's just passion. ... No one is going to get it unless I get it, or somebody else on my team gets it, so that's just how I look at it."
"She has been rebounding pretty tough all year," Roosevelt head coach Rod Hairston said of Applewhite. " ... She has been doing a good job. She is maturing, too. She is bringing the ball up [court], she rebounds the ball, she can score in the paint, and she is shooting the three. She is a beast."
Applewhite's offensive-maturing process was on full display as well on this night as she scored a game-high 15 points in the victory.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 11-1 overall, 11-0 in the 4A League and the No.2 ranked team in the DigitalSports Beltway Ballers girls top 10, started the game with a strong showing on the defensive side of the ball that enabled the Lady Raiders to open a 19-4 lead on the heels of a 13-0 scoring run to end the opening period.
From that point forward, Roosevelt held a comfortable lead throughout, minus a moment late in the third period when the Lady Bulldogs managed to get within seven points of a tie, 36-29.
However, Roosevelt pulled away again due in large part to a 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter en route to the eventual win.
"We had a strong attitude coming in," said Roosevelt's Nickia Gibbs who scored 12 points in the win. " ... We were real hype and ready to come in."
On the team's rebounding efforts on the night, Gibbs added: "We practice real hard on that in practice. So, we just brought the effort today to the game and we did an excellent job."
Bowie (9-5, 7-3) found its offensive rhythm in the second stanza knocking down four three-pointers in the period including two from Sharnel Huff.
Huff managed to score eight of her team high 11 points in Bowie's strongest scoring quarter.
"They jumped on us early," Bowie head coach Mike Hines said. "But, I was proud of the resiliency that we kept, we kept fighting back. To keep on playing the way they did was a positive thing, we fought with the number two team around here. ... I look at it like they played well. I liked their effort."
The Raiders are perfect thus far in conference play at 11-0, yet have their sights set on a bigger goal, a fifth consecutive 4A state championship, so focus is the premium for Roosevelt.
"Looking at the big picture," Applewhite answered on how the team remains focused.
"It's really hard," Hairston said on remaining steadfast in the team's goal. "When you have won four state championships, it's like what are you playing for. They want to play for the state championship, and that's what they say ... and I keep trying to explain to them that what happened last year might not happen this year.
"We have to prepare and get better every practice, every game."
tmccray@digitalsports.com
Eleanor Roosevelt 60, Bowie 40
Bowie -- 4 16 12 8
Roosevelt -- 19 9 14 18
