Poly's Cache' Wilson only scored two field goals in her team's victory over rival City; the first one and the most important one.

The freshman hit a 3-pointer, Poly's only one of the game, with 55 seconds left to break a tie and lead the host and 13th-ranked Engineers to a 50-45 win in a key Baltimore City Division I game.

Senior Jewel Porter led Poly (10-1, 8-0) with 12 points, while City's Raquel Nicholson led all scorers with 20 points.

“We keep telling her to shoot, shoot, shoot,” said Porter of Wilson's 3. “The play wasn't called for her, but she found herself open and let it go. It gave us just what we needed.”

Poly coach Kendall Peace-Able agreed.

“I'm a conservative coach, so I'm always going to want to go for two,” Peace-Able said. “We tried to get the ball inside, but she found herself open and she hit it.”

The shot stopped a furious comeback bid by the Knights. City trailed most of the game, and was down by as many as 16 points, 38-22, with 3:01 left in the third quarter. After coming out of halftime leading 26-22, the Engineers held City scoreless for the first 5:43 of the second half.

Then it was the Knights' turn to score. City (11-4, 6-2) scored nine straight points, with five of them coming from Nicholson, to cut the margin to 38-31 after the third quarter.

The Knights looked to Nicholson to lead them in the fourth quarter, and she didn't disappoint. The sophomore hit three 3-pointers to score nine of 11 points in City's 11-3 run that gave the Knights a 42-41 lead with 3:45 remaining. The lead changed twice before City's Mya Henderson made a free throw to tie the game at 45 with 1:32 remaining.

City used a pressing defense, but the Engineers worked the ball down the court. After looking for a shot inside the paint, Poly settled for its only open option; Wilson in the corner. She made the shot to give Poly a 48-45 lead. After a turnover by the Knights, Poly's Dasia Townes closed out the scoring with a layup with 23 seconds left.

This year's Engineers are a little different. Peace-Able has chosen to carry six freshmen, and that choice has paid dividends for the young Engineers. Of the 50 points Poly scored, 17 came from freshmen, with all six scoring at least one point.

“They've adjusted well to playing at this level,” Peace-Able said. “They come from [Amateur Athletic Union] backgrounds where there is no shot clock, but they've learned how to manage that. They are also good students academically, which is also very important.”

If the Engineers are to be driven by their young players, that doesn't bother Porter.

“We divide our season into quarters, so by that definition there are no freshmen on our team,” said Porter, one of only two seniors. “We just don't look at it like that. We are all one here.”