All season long, Poly girls basketball has followed the lead of senior Bri Pope and sophomore London Elliott. Friday night at Milford Mill was no different, as the dynamic duo paved the way for a 41-37 victory in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.

Pope finished with a game-high 13 points and 12 rebounds (nine offensive), while Elliott had 12 points and 10 rebounds and made four clutch free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory.

“I was hungry,” Pope said. “I just wanted to get every board to help my team.”

Elliott, who had 25 points on Thursday night in an overtime victory over Edgewood in the regional championship game, had the same sentiment.

“I’m proud of my team when I wasn’t able to step up and do what I was supposed to do,” she said. “Out of everybody in our conference, nobody can stop me and Bri in a post-and-guard position.”

Poly (18-9) advances to the state semifinals next Tuesday or Wednesday, while Milford Mill ends the season with a 21-5 mark. Tristian Savage (11 points), Tatyana Fields (nine) and Haylee Clark (eight) led the Millers’ offense.

Both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm, but both defenses maintained their intensity all game.

“I feel like we played good defense,” Elliott said. “We had a few mistakes that we are going to fix in order to get our ring this year in the seniors’ last year.”

That Engineers’ defense came up biggest in the fourth quarter when they held the Millers to seven points, including just one in the final 1:18. They also forced five of Milford Mill’s 17 turnovers.

After Clark’s free throw tied the game at 36, Elliott’s free throw 30 seconds later gave the Engineers a lead they would never relinquish.

“[Pope and Elliott] are just good teammates” Poly coach Kendall Peace-Able said. “I’m trying to get them all to learn how this game is beautiful when you play it for one another.”

Poly opened the game with six straight points, but coach Candyce Jeter’s Millers stayed close thanks to 3-pointers by Clark and Savage.

Poly bumped the lead to 20-16 at halftime thanks to four points from Alia Austin in the second quarter.

Savage spearheaded a comeback bid in the third when she scored seven points and helped rally her squad. Alannah Jones’ 3-pointer gave the Millers a 30-28 lead at the break.

“[Savage] has been our floor general and she has been a pivotal piece for what we’ve been building here for four years,” Milford Mill assistant coach Tevin Hanner said. “Step by step, she has been setting the table for us and she was every bit as important for everything we’ve been doing these last four years.”

Fields, who had 38 points earlier in the season in the Baltimore County championship game loss to Pikesville, has also been a key weapon all season, and her two baskets early in the fourth quarter made it 34-30.

But her field goal with 6:44 left in the game was the last one for the Millers, and although her 12 points were lower than her season average, she still contributed eight rebounds.

“That one game doesn’t define Tatyana Fields,” Hanner said. “Tatyana Fields has been special for us for four years. I’m just happy that people finally opened their eyes and noticed the talent that we’ve been appreciative to have for four years. She’s going to go on to do great things.

“It was very unfortunate that we didn’t make a few more plays and get the job done. Hats off to Poly, it’s a heck of a team, heck of a program, but that’s been us all year and that will continue to be us.”

Other girls basketball scores:

Oakland Mills 56, Howard 46: Oakland Mills senior guard Destiny Macharia’s confidence never wavered. The veteran had not connected on a 3-pointer with the Scorpions trailing by five late in the third quarter of Friday night’s Class 3A state quarterfinal against Howard.

However, that didn’t dissuade her as Macharia pulled up from two dribbles beyond halfcourt and picked an ideal time to make her first. She narrowly beat the third-quarter buzzer on that 3-point bomb as the gym went ballistic. All of the sudden, momentum was back on the Scorpions’ side.

“Confidence is the key,” Macharia said. “Coach Mike [Coughlan] always tells me that confidence is the winner.”

Oakland Mills (21-3) continued to shoot with confidence and connected on several critical fourth-quarter 3s. The third-seeded Scorpions advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2018 and will face No. 7 seed Poly on a date and site to be determined.

— Jacob Steinberg

South River 82, Oxon Hill 41: No team has managed to challenge South River since Jan. 11. That includes the other Class 3A state quarterfinalists.

South River strung another lopsided result to its 15-game winning streak to advance to the 3A state semifinals next week.

South River’s players are individually talented. But it’s their unity, they agree, that makes them a rarity in Maryland high school girls basketball this winter.

“We have a tight bond. We all work together really well,” said junior Kiera West, who scored 23 points in Friday’s win. “We get the little things right.”

The Seahawks (20-6) have prepared all season for a potentially difficult game. They’ve consistently played the only players that could challenge them: each other.

“We go at it at practice,” said senior Skylar Woodyard, who scored 20 points Friday. “We know to get better, we have to do everything we can to do it.”

— Katherine Fominykh

Francis Scott Key 61, Fallston 32: The Eagles have advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals for the second consecutive season. The fifth-seeded Eagles, last year’s state runner-up, will face top-seeded Parkside at a day and time to be announced. Senior guard Summer Brooks, who scored her 1,000th career point earlier in the playoffs, led Friday’s win with 21 points. She also totaled five rebounds, three assists and three steals. She was backed by the inside game of Ava Hoeflich, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Hereford 49, Wilde Lake 40: The Bulls beat the Wildecats in a Class 2A state quarterfinal. Senior Ellis Reynolds scored 11 points and sophomore Shea Kanning added nine and senior Anna Orner chipped in eight to lead Hereford, which will play Frederick Douglass-PG next week is the state semifinals.

Pikesville 66, Patterson Mill 29: The Panthers defeated the visiting Huskies in a Class 1A state quarterfinal. NyJae Malik-El led the way with 20 points, eight steals and six assists, Mariah Jones-Bey stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven assists, seven steals, seven rebounds and two blocks and Maya Chase added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals in the win.

Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Craig Clary at cclary@baltsun.com and x.com/ClaryCraig.