Junior point guard Kaila Stasulli had played the exact moment that confronted her Wednesday night in practice over and over again.

The game tied at 39 and hanging in the balance with just 16.8 seconds remaining, Stasulli and her Falcons teammates never panicked despite being in enemy territory at top-seeded South River. They took comfort in knowing they have been through this situation all week long.

Stasulli calmly collected the inbounds pass and simply dribbled and waited for the right moment to run the play that would give Severna Park the 4A East Region II championship for the first time since 1988.

As the clock ticked past 10, she drove the length of the court, dribbled past a defender at the 3-point line and just kept going uninterrupted to the basket. Stasulli’s uncontested layup went through the hoop with less than five seconds to play, and after South River’s Harley Herndon’s buzzer-beating shot attempt clanked off the side of the rim, the Falcons celebrated a 41-39 victory more than 30 years in the making.

“It’s a moment I am going to remember for the rest of my life,” said Stasulli, who finished with a team-high 12 points and scored all nine of her team’s points in the fourth quarter. “We’ve been working on these last-minute plays in practice for the whole week basically, so we just knew what we were doing. I think we were pretty comfortable either way. … I think we were pretty good with that shot.”

“Kaila did a great job — she’s going to get the game ball,” Severna Park head coach Kristofer Dean said. “I didn’t know she had that many in the fourth, but I knew she did a phenomenal job taking care of the offense.”

— Katherine Fominykh

Marriotts Ridge 39, Westminster 37: Westminster’s preparation for Wednesday’s Class 3A East Region I final against Marriotts Ridge came down to poring over a good bit of game film, and Owls coach Dave Urban said his girls made plans to stop a pair of forwards in senior Emma Morath and junior Emma Miller.

The Mustangs’ frontcourt combined for 11 points, but teammate Kendall Bryan took the opportunity to showcase her 3-point shooting skills.

Westminster contained Bryan for most of the second half, but her first 16 minutes of play proved to be the difference in Marriotts Ridge’s 39-37 win to claim its second regional title in four seasons.

Bryan finished with 17 points, a game high, and sank four of her five 3-pointers in the first half.

“We knew [Bryan] could shoot, we didn’t know she could [make five 3s],” Urban said. “They just are a very sound team.”

— Pat Stoetzer

Howard 54, Old Mill 36: Entering the season, Howard girls basketball’s seniors vowed to right the wrongs of previous seasons and bring the Lions their first region championship since 2011.

Senior captains Marisa Sanchez-Henry, Anii Harris and Camille Malagar said they wouldn’t take any games off during the regular season, and they were right. The Lions swept through Howard County and the regular season with a 22-0 record.

In the Lions’ region title game against visiting Old Mill Wednesday, though, the difference was Howard’s young players stepped up and helped the seniors achieve their long-awaited goal. Sophomore forward Gabby Scott and freshman guard Samiyah Nasir led No. 1 seed Howard to a 54-36 win over No. 2 Old Mill in the 4A East Region I title game.

“It feels amazing,” said Sanchez-Henry. “We’ve come close to this before, so we’re going to celebrate this. It was a great atmosphere tonight.”

With the victory, Howard (24-0) moves on to the state quarterfinals on Friday, while Old Mill’s season ends. The Patriots advanced to the region title game via a forfeit from Meade, which used an ineligible player in its win over Old Mill on Monday.

“They were more aggressive, more physical and played harder than us,” said Old Mill head coach Rick Smith.

— Jacob Calvin Meyer

River Hill 59, Reservoir 47: Like most opposing teams do, Reservoir came into Wednesday’s 3A East Region II final keying in on stopping River Hill’s leading trio of Saniha Jackson, Kennedy Clark and Anhyia Smith. And, for the most part, the Gators succeeded in limiting the production of those three.

What that game plan did not account for, however, was the sophomore duo of Caroline Duffy and Erin Devine.

Duffy poured in a career-high 14 points to go along with 16 rebounds, while Devine provided a spark early with six points in the first quarter and River Hill grabbed an early lead and never let go en route to a 59-47 victory and the program’s second straight region championship.

“The production of those two is absolutely crucial to our success, that’s no secret. We know teams are going to be focusing in on those three, so Erin and Caroline become the determining factor for us on both ends of the court,” River Hill coach Teresa Waters said. “Erin hit a couple open shots early before getting in foul trouble and then, as they were double-teaming Saniha down low, Caroline stepped up.”

River Hill (20-4) jumped out to a 14-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and then extended that lead to double digits early in the second, with Duffy and Devine doing the heavy lifting — combining for 11 of the Hawks’ first 16 points.

“I look at it as a great opportunity when they focus in on those other players,” said Duffy, who posted her second straight game in double figures scoring for the first time all winter. “I feel like my role is to usually try and create opportunities for them, but when those double-teams or traps come I need to be ready and it’s a great feeling to know that I can make a difference. I’m just happy to do my part.”

For all the contributions from the supporting cast, the ‘big three’ certainly did their part as well. Smith finished with a team-high 15 points, while Clark and Jackson chipped in with 11 apiece.

The Hawks’ balanced production helped offset a special effort by Reservoir (16-8) senior Tiffany Hooker, who scored a game-high 27 points.

Poly has made the state final four in 3A each of the last two seasons, losing in the semifinals in 2018 and in the finals last winter.

— Brent Kennedy