by Robert Klemko

If St. Vincent Pallotti High School girls’ basketball team repeats as IAAM B Conference champion, it will be because of Kaitlin O’Hara. The senior had 16 points and 15 rebounds, propelling the Panthers past Bryn Mawr, 33-26, in a quarterfinal match in Laurel Wednesday.

O’Hara has emerged as the focal point in a starting five that includes four underclassmen as the third-seeded Panthers (9-12 overall) advance to the semifinals Friday against either Chapelgate Christian or Mount de Sales. The No. 2 seed Sailors host Chapelgate Christian Academy Thursday afternoon in Catonsville. 

“She gives 100 percent every second she’s on the court, she’s really a go-getter, said Pallotti coach Debbie Skelly of O’Hara. “She got a bit overshadowed last year by the seniors, so she’s really picked up her game and done well on the boards.”

Pallotti held a slight edge for most of the game though shooting seven of 26 from the foul line. It was O’Hara’s pair of foul shots that put the Panthers up eight, their largest lead of the night, with more than four minutes left in the game.

“I take pride in being intense,” said O’Hara who scored all six of Pallotti’s third quarter points. “If someone says you scored this many point than it’s whatever but if some says, ‘hey you played hard’ then I’m really proud.”

For Panthers sophomore forward Jackie Buckley, the win was a matter of choice.

“We decided that we wanted to win and we came out and won,” Buckley said. “Now we expect to go to the championship.”

Bryn Mawr (9-11) committed a season-high 17 team fouls in the second half and shot just 10 of 49 from the field.

“We didn’t make things go our way and yes there were some fouls that were questionable calls and there were fouls that we committed,” said Bryn Mawr’s first-year coach Mimi Walters. “We just needed to do a better job of not putting ourselves in that position.”

Senior guard Teona Hanson is the only graduating member of Walters’ first varsity squad. She scored three points and collected three rebounds in the loss.

“It definitely is disappointing,” Hanson said. “We played really hard, we practiced hard, we wanted it, but some things didn’t go our way.”

Hanson said the season had been a learning experience and that she was proud of the way her team matured throughout the year.

“In the beginning we didn’t really know each other, we didn’t know who we could count on for what but by the end we definitely knew,” Hanson said.

Pallotti will look to improve on Wednesday’s paltry foul shooting before Friday’s semifinals. During the regular season, the Panthers split with Mount de Sales and swept Chapelgate Christian.

“I want the ‘ship’ really,” said O’Hara, “that’s all I’m really seeing.”

IAAM B Conference first-round
St. Vincent Pallotti 33, Bryn Mawr 26
Bryn Mawr: Noon 4, Szczerbicki 6,Thomas 4,Badder 2, Peterson 2,Hanson 3, Greene 5. Totals: 10 5-8 26.
St. Vincent Pallotti: OHara 16, Ekedigwe 4, Goodman 2, Buckley 6, Pollock 4. Totals: 13 7-26 33.