3A GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE FINAL
Daniels, Cadets march past Lightning to defend championship
In the 3A state final on Saturday, Long Reach’s girls basketball team found out the same thing its county rival Atholton did almost exactly one year earlier.
The bigger the stage, the better Makayla Daniels and Frederick are.
Daniels scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, following a 47-point effort in last year’s title game against the Raiders, to help the Cadets pull away for a 62-50 victory over the Lightning and secure the program’s second straight state championship.
“I think just knowing that my team needs me and knowing that I have to do what I have to do to help my team succeed [motivates me],” Daniels said. “I actually get more nervous I would say before these type of games, just because the amount of people is a whole lot different than a regular season game … but once that whistle blows, my nerves kind of go away.”
Frederick coach Ashley Bush said Daniels is made for the championship setting.
“She’s a competitor … and a competitor doesn’t shy away when the competition comes for you,” Bush said.
Daniels, who made seven foul shots in the fourth quarter to hold off a Long Reach (21-3) team that cut its once 15-point deficit down to four points midway through the final period, certainly didn’t have to do it all herself.
Frederick (26-2) senior Krysten Linthicum did her part as well with 12 points.
For Long Reach, a season filled with firsts for the program — including county and region championships for the first time — simply fell one-game short of the ultimate prize. Lyric Swann and Kiana Williams finished as the leading scorers for the Lightning in the championship contest with 18 points apiece.
“I thought it was a well-played game by both teams and I think it lived up to the hype of what it should have been. It was a great prime-time game,” Long Reach coach Kelli Cofield said. “I think our girls, we left it all out on the court. We didn’t come out to be the winner, which of course is what we wanted to do, but I can’t speak enough about their effort.”
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