Mount Hebron coach Scott Robinson never saw it coming ? not after his girl?s basketball season finished the regular season undefeated, not when his team won its first Howard County Championship game and certainly not after looking at a 2A South Region Tournament field that included River Hill and Gwynn Park.
“If you would have asked me that 26 games into our season, we?d be 26-0, I?d say no,” he said. “But I think what we?ve done has been just a great tribute to our girls in the way they have been able to block out all of the distractions the entire season.”
But the Vikings have to maintain focus for two more games if they want to win the Ellicott City school?s first state title since 1991. When Mount Hebron takes the court at UMBC?s RAC Arena on Wednesday night at 7 in the state semifinals, it will face another team that knows what?s its like to be undefeated: Winters Mill (25-0). The Falcons are trying to become the first Carroll County school to run the table en route to a state title.
The winner advances to the state final against either St. Mary?s County?s Great Mills (24-1) or Montgomery County?s Paint Branch (23-0) on Saturday evening at 5 at UMBC.
“I know how good Winters Mill is, and they are very, very good,” Robinson said. “But I?m confident with the way we are playing as a team.”
To understand why Robinson was his team?s biggest critic and why his players celebrated so feverishly after Qiana Coleman?s layup with 1.9 seconds remaining gave her team a 39-37 victory over Gwynn Park in the region final, look at the Vikings? recent history.
Mount Hebron has a storied past, as it won six state titles from 1980 -1991. But since Robinson took over, the Vikings have been in the same region with Prince George?s County power Gwynn Park and Howard County?s River Hill, which until a few years ago had a tech magnet program that permitted many of the county?s best players to attend the Clarksville school. Gwynn Park won five region and three state titles from 2000-2006, with River Hill winning a state title and two region titles in the past four seasons.
“You look at our region and it?s a daunting task because it?s the best region in the state,” said Robinson, whose team is 163-45 the past nine seasons, including 80-17 the past four. “But the biggest thing about this team is the girls thrive under pressure.”
The Vikings have succeeded by combining a stifling defense and a balanced offense in which sophomore guard Aja Wallpher (5.4 apg) often looks to get the ball inside to senior forward Deanna Dydynski (12.2 ppg), junior forward Brittany Bowen (12.1 ppg) and sophomore center Megan Schaaf (7.6 ppg).
“It wasn?t until we beat such a great team like Gwynn Park that we looked at each other for the first time and said, ?I guess we?re pretty good,?” Dydynski said. “At the beginning of the year, we didn?t think we?d be anything huge at all, but we worked our butts off and it all paid off.”
