Oakland Mills girls basketball coach Mike Coughlan showed his team a video before taking the court for Wednesday night’s regional final against River Hill. It was footage of their first workout together nearly 22 months ago.

That session set the foundation for the Scorpions’ ascension. Oakland Mills excelled in Coughlan’s first year, but their season ended with a 25-point loss to River Hill in the regional final. That defeat was a motivating factor, and it showed in their dominant regular season.

After losing the opener, Oakland Mills won 17 consecutive county games, all by double digits. The Scorpions’ dominance earned them a spot in the Howard County championship game, where they beat River Hill by 20 to capture the program’s first county title.

On Wednesday, Oakland Mills returned to the hardwood with a chance to erase the frustrating memories of last year’s loss and get its revenge. The Scorpions didn’t squander that opportunity.

Behind lights-out perimeter shooting, including 13 3-pointers, the Scorpions secured the Class 3A South Region II title with a 67-44 win over River Hill, their 19th straight. Oakland Mills (20-3) advances to the 3A state quarterfinals, where the eight regional champions will be reseeded based on regular-season record.

“I’m proud how we grew as a team,” guard Adey Alexander said. “We were good last year, but we were still getting used to connecting. I think we all matured as a group. We play more team ball, making us score more and playing defense better. It makes us win more games.”

River Hill (15-6) found success in the game’s opening minutes as Dylan Watson feasted in the post with six early points. After that early flurry, Oakland Mills adjusted its defense and better denied post touches. That improved defensive effort also sparked the Scorpions’ perimeter shooting, including a trio of 3-pointers in the opening quarter to take a five-point lead.

Despite Oakland Mills’ hot shooting, River Hill remained within three until the late stages of the first half. The Scorpions closed the final three minutes on a 7-0 run and took a 10-point lead in halftime. Junior Chloe Grenway concluded that spurt with a back-breaking, buzzer-beating 3-pointer, her fourth of six triples on the evening. Grenway, who finished with a team-high 25 points, calmly looked at the clock, dribbled up the floor and banked in a nearly 30-foot shot. She and Coughlan couldn’t help but smile.

“I open the gym for Chloe and her dad, and I see how hard this kid works,” Coughlan said. “She’s just like a machine. Watching her work, there’s no conversation. It’s 45 to 50 minutes of her sitting there, working, working, working. I’ve seen it for 22 months and it’s all the offseason stuff. It doesn’t surprise me at all. I see how hard that kid works, and to see it pay off, that’s the best thing.”

Oakland Mills extended the momentum from Grenway’s shot into the second half. Alexander and Destiny Macharia knocked down consecutive 3s midway through the third quarter, which ballooned the lead to 18. River Hill struggled to generate any offense outside of Watson as the deficit remained at 17 entering the fourth.

The Scorpions continued to light it up from behind the arc with three more triples in the last eight minutes. Amidst the celebration, the Scorpions passed around the regional title plaque and gathered together for thunderous chants of “OM!”

Oakland Mills earned at least 48 more hours together, playing on the state quarterfinal stage for the first time since 2018. Twenty-two months since that first meeting, the Scorpions are continuing their rise — one they hope concludes with the program’s second state title and first since 1998.

“We haven’t gotten there yet, so it will be a nice environment to play in,” Grenway said. “I know we have a lot of confidence because we were all cooking today.”

Crofton girls outlast Meade in region final: Crofton girls basketball all but had Meade where it wanted.

By the middle of the third quarter of the Class 4A East Region I final, the Cardinals held a 10-point lead by taking full advantage of the fouls and turnovers littering the Mustangs’ side. Then, Meade senior Sanaya Moore christened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and the Cardinals’ battle for the region truly began.

Crofton junior Alani Stephens went back-and-forth with the Mustangs, as both teams threw heavyweight punches.

The final 90 seconds arrived. Meade senior Naomi Williams ducked as two Cardinals crashed in to block her shot and bolted up to make it. She cut Crofton’s margin to six points. They just needed to stop the Cardinals from hitting back.

Stephens slammed the door on those dreams.

As the Mustangs raced down the floor to respond, Stephens descended upon the visitors and went running the other direction, basketball in hand.

Crofton coach Jonathan Mason signaled for a timeout and hugged his point guard tight. Shortly after, Cardinals senior Mollee Corso bounded to the paint and scored, cementing the 53-43 final. Making basic layups had been an odd struggle for the Cardinals all season, but not Wednesday night in a championship setting.

“Our whole team stayed positive,” Mason said. “I’m just proud of how they hung on. This is beautiful.”

Crofton (15-7) raised another region plaque to the chorus of honking silver and red kazoos from its crowd. Then, Mason left his players to ceremonially cut down their net to find a broom. Sweeping up the cardboard pieces that fell from a region title trophy couldn’t be a more fitting image for the Cardinals, who swept the teams from their region 5-0 this winter.

Crofton was not at its full strength Wednesday. Injuries sidelined starters Skye Matthews and Kylie Mixon, while senior Jasmine Diehl played on a foot recently released from a boot.

If unforced turnovers had not riddled Meade’s play in the opening eight minutes, it could have inflicted major damage on the Cardinals as they tried to sort themselves out. Even so, the Mustangs rolled to a 10-5 advantage, fueled by monopolizing the rebounds.

Just before the first buzzer, Stephens (20 points) fired a warning flare: a layup off a steal that closed the gap to 12-10.

It was her performance that had Mason smiling by the end. Stephens struggled through her past few games, he said, but shook it it all off for her final home game.

“I knew this was everything I could do, for my seniors,” she said. “I think it was just anticipating the ball and speed. I trusted I could get to the basket, and I did.”

Defensively, Meade’s press managed to subdue Crofton for at least the first frame. Its best offense came from Trinity Williams, who efficiently capitalized on drawing fouls by going 6 of 8 at the free-throw line – until she hurt her knee in the second quarter. In her absence for most of the remainder of the game, the Mustangs were awarded 18 free throws. They made seven.

With senior Vanessa Carmichael and Stephens running the floor, the Cardinals flipped the lead in the second frame and threaded a 9-0 and 6-0 run, respectively, before the half.

Up 23-17 to start the second half, foul trouble disrupted Crofton’s momentum and prevented the Cardinals from deploying the offensive plans it drew up. When the Cardinals found themselves wrapped up in that chaos, they looked back at their coach and remembered to calm down. Foul trouble was not going to stop them from doing what they wanted.

“We’re deep,” Stephens said. “We may not have a lot of girls, but the ones we have always show out on the court.”

Crofton will now be reseeded for the state quarterfinals, which will be played Friday or Saturday. The Cardinals were not the only ones hampered by injuries this week — but many of those teams aren’t playing anymore. Crofton survived.

“If we want to get to where we want to get to, we have to grind it out,” Mason said. “At this point in the season, it’s not about plays or schemes. It’s about toughening up and executing to the maximum level of what you can do.”

— Katherine Fominykh

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Steinberg at jsteinberg @baltsun.com, 443-442-9445 and x.com/jacobstein23.