DIGITALSPORTS
2007-08 ALL-HARFORD COUNTY
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TEAM
Coach of the Year: Vern Brown, Fallston
and Michael Harris, Joppatowne
Player of the Year: Jess Harlee, Fallston
and Lauren Houck, C. Milton Wright
COACH OF THE YEAR
Vern Brown, Fallston:
Brown led the Cougars (21-4) to within three points
of getting to the state Final Four at UMBC. Fallston didn’t lose often or by
much. It fell to New Town early in non-league play, by two points to both Bel
Air and Joppatowne (both with Harlee out) and by three points to Atholton in
the 3A East Region Finals. Brown had to do some juggling when he lost star
player Jess Harlee in mid-season for five games. When the go-to player goes
down, teams can often struggle. Fallston did at first, but Brown made some
adjustments kept the ship afloat until Harlee returned. They were the top team
in Harford County play and competed in the toughest division (Chesapeake) of
the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference (UCBAC), and then won the overall
title, for the fourth year in a row, with a 67-39 win over Edgewood. In the
playoffs, Fallston defeated two tough teams, Annapolis (52-46) and Reservoir
(58-55), but eventually lost at Atholton (57-54) after leading at the half.
Michael Harris, Joppatowne:
Joppatowne lost nearly
its entire team to graduation, 11 of 12 players, including 10 seniors and the
entire starting line-up. But with some talented freshmen and sophomores, Harris
molded a new team that went 15-9 overall. Harris said that he and his staff of
Andrew Pesci, Katie Rodriquez, Natalie Kittell and Leah Beaulieu made teaching
fundamentals a priority every day. It paid off.
Despite being 1A, they beat 3A Fallston once (with Harlee out), and only
lost to 4A C. Milton Wright by nine and 12, and beat Bel Air twice. The
Mariners beat Harford Tech (72-43) and Perryville (50-22) in the region
playoffs before losing to Surrattsville (74-37) in the 1A South Region finals.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jess Harlee, Fallston, SO, guard/forward:
The sophomore forward continues to improve, year by year, and was clearly one
of the top players in the Baltimore Metro area. She is a tough match-up, with a
rare combination of size, speed and athleticism that allows her to play both
inside and outside. Few players can match her speed in transition. She played
“point-forward” as her coach called it, and averaged 15.4 points, 10 rebounds,
four assists and four steals. She missed a fifth of the season (five games)
with an eye injury, and showed her true value when sidelined. Fallston was 21-4
overall and suffered two of those losses when she was out of the line-up. She
had 20 points in a play-off win over Annapolis and 17 in another play-off win
over Reservoir. She finished the season with eight in the Region final’s loss
at Atholton after getting in second-half foul trouble.
Lauren Houck, C. Milton Wright, SR, forward:
With Harlee’s star rising each year, Houck is
sometimes overlooked in County play. Like Harlee, she led her team to the
Region Finals of the state play-offs. At 5-9, she excelled inside at the power
forward spot, using her skill, strength, savvy, and fierce competitive will to
take on any and all comers in the paint. She was an excellent offensive rebounder
and could score with either hand inside, often going to her non-dominant left
hand. In a non-league game versus then-Top 10 Mercy, she had a slow first half,
but came out with fire in the final half and put up 22 points overall against a
tough A Conference team, showing that she could play with anybody in the area. She led CMW to a 16-6 record and two play-off
wins, as the Mustangs beat Thomas Johnson (52-51) and Linganore (60-43) before losing
at Dulaney (40-28) in the 4A North Region
finals. Houck averaged 16.8 points and 5.7 rebounds, and finished her career as
the Mustang career leader in points with 1,237.
FIRST TEAM
Joanna Catalano, Aberdeen, SR, center:
Top center in the County. An imposing 6-4, she averaged a double-double
of 11 points and 10 rebounds, showing improved inside moves and free throw
shooting.
Jess Harlee, Fallston, SO, guard/forward:
Co-Player of
Year, see above.
Lauren Houck, C. Milton Wright, SR, forward:
Co-Player of
Year, see above.
Lindsay Howard, Fallston, SR, forward:
Excellent outside shooter,
averaged 11 points and five boards. The 6-2 forward had some big games late and
put up extra points when Harlee was out. In the play-off run she averaged 16.7
points, with 18 points versus Annapolis,
12 against Reservoir and 20 in the Region Final loss at Atholton.
Zameria Jones, Joppatowne, FR, guard:
Freshman guard led the
Mariners and was one of the top scorers in County with 15.6 points, along with
four rebounds and four steals.
Maddie Salamone, Bel Air, JR, forward:
Power-forward averaged 10
points and seven rebounds, along with strong interior defense. Scored 22 points in play-off loss to Reservior.
Brittany
Thorton, Joppatowne, SO, forward:
Averaged 11.8 points and
also collared 9.8 rebounds, to go along with 4.2 assists and 3.5 steals per
game.
SECOND TEAM
Meredith Allen, C. Milton Wright, SR, forward
Arlana Roland, Bel Air, SR, center
Sarah Spalt, Fallston, SR, forward
Jess Steiner, Fallston, JR, guard
Tiffany Taylor, Aberdeen, SO, guard
Julie Trinchere, C. Milton Wright, SO, guard
Mallory Vogel, C. Milton Wright, SR, forward
Note:
Harford County is not part of the DigitalSports area of coverage as of
yet; however, since my Girls Top 20 poll included teams from Harford, I decided
to add a Digital version of an All-County team. The selections are based on
public school teams only. My apologies for the delay in posting – I experienced
a computer crash a couple months ago and lost numerous files and pictures.
Selections were made by Mike Buchanan after consulting with area coaches
and fans. Selections are NOT based on just points and statistics. Offense is
obviously easier to quantify, but also factored in are: defense, team-play,
impact in big games and overall success of a player’s team, in-season AND post-season. If any errors to edit or
additional stats to enter, please contact me:
mbuchanan@digitalsports.com