The Edgewood girls basketball team is hard to miss when it enters a gym. The entire roster, from the leading scorer to the last reserve, dons the same neon yellow sneakers, a fierce clash with their black and red uniforms.

That’s the point.

Team captain Sam Donovan had the idea of the team matching their shoes last summer. They wanted ones that stood out and drew eyes, but they needed longer than anticipated to settle on one everyone could get behind.

“It took us a while, actually,” Donovan said. “We wanted a bright color. It either had to match completely or not match at all.”

“We almost chose pink,” junior forward Jael Erickson interjected.

“But then the pink didn’t have people’s sizes,” Donovan explained. “So we chose yellow.”

It’s a minor detail in the larger picture of a long basketball season, but being unified by standout colors is one example of how tight-knit this Edgewood team has become. Circled around coach Wes Laguerre in pregame huddles, they peek down at the hardwood and their ring of yellow shoes to get a reminder that they’re together, then transition that cohesiveness onto the court.

After a 65-44 win at Patterson Mill on Monday, which Laguerre said is Edgewood’s first win in that gym in more than a decade, the Rams are 15-4 overall this season and 12-1 in the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference. They’ve lost just once since the new year. With each victory, they’re appearing more like Harford County’s team to beat and doing so in style.

“Them coming together off the court a little bit more has helped us translate our success to on the court,” Laguerre said.

Edgewood relied on an inextinguishable 3-point shooting spree Monday to enter halftime up 34-15 led by Donovan, who hit seven outside shots and finished with 28 points. The Rams’ sizzling shooting simmered in the third quarter but did enough elsewhere to maintain their 19-point lead entering the final quarter.

Barrages from deep have become typical for Edgewood, a charge led by Donovan and Erickson that is almost unbeatable when its hitting.

“Their confidence has grown,” Laguerre said. “They know the county can be their oyster if they continue to play hard.”

In the fourth, Donovan left her final mark on the night. She sank her final 3-pointer of the game as the minutes waned to effectively seal her team’s victory, then lifted three fingers to the Patterson Mill gym ceiling as a stunned home crowd watched quietly. Like them, she’d been silent all night, draining triples then hustling back on defense. But this one, with the game out of reach, was cause for celebration.

Erickson added 12 points in the win. Senior center Lilly Smeltzer tallied a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.

“When we have a run where we just make a lot of smart shots with smart decisions, that really shows what we’re capable of,” Smeltzer said.

Edgewood struggled during the nonconference portion of its schedule, going 3-3 with losses to Rosedale Christian Academy, Dulaney and St. Timothy’s in December. Laguerre felt that stretch was needed to ground his group and prepare them for what became a tricky January due to a slew of cancellations — Edgewood and Patterson Mill (11-5, 10-4) will play again Thursday in a makeup game.

But since December, dominant wins have piled up for the Rams. Only one of their last eight victories came by fewer than 12 points. Their only loss was at Fallston, which they already beat earlier this year, and they’ve otherwise dominated UCBAC play. Laguerre believes they’re clicking at the right time with just a couple weeks left until the state playoffs.

“We haven’t forgotten about that,” the coach said. “It’s been fun to watch, to see them handle adversity. We just learned from it and we’ll continue to grow.”

Edgewood’s momentous second quarter Monday backed Laguerre’s faith. Midway through it, his team had a rare missed 3-pointer, but a savvy offensive rebound and putback layup was just what the coach wanted to see and spelled a Patterson Mill timeout. He sprang up from his crouched position onto the court, the thumps of his clapping hands filling the gym. There was plenty of game left, but it was already an insurmountable advantage. So his emotions took over.

This, Laguerre thought, is what his neon-sneaker-wearing Edgewood team can be at its best.

“We want to look one. We want to be a team,” he said. “If everybody looks the same and we all bring energy the same way and we all do things the same way, it translates to success.”

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