***Be sure to click the VIDEOS link above for highlights from both games***
Stories by:
James A. McCray III
Prince George’s County, Content Editor
Photos and Videos by:
Andy States
SMAC, Content Editor
Girls:
St. Mary’s Ryken 57, Bishop Ireton 30
New season, new records, new attitudes, and new expectations still amount to the same dream, a championship.
For two Washington Catholic Athletic Conference teams, the dream began Thursday night inside of the St. Mary’s Ryken gym as the Ryken girls hosted Bishop Ireton in a contest to determine who would advance to the WCAC quarterfinals.
For the Ryken girls, that dream will live another day after the Knights earned a 57-30 victory.
“A win is a win, but it wasn’t pretty,” admitted Ryken head coach Tara Everly.
What was pretty for the Ryken team was its defense as the Knights interrupted passes and turned steals into baskets, including a 14-0 run during the middle stages of the second quarter to open up a 29-5 lead.
Also aesthetically pleasing was the play of sophomore guard Zakiya Chambers-Hunter as she scored a game-high 16 points in the victory.
“It was a good game overall,” Chambers-Hunter said. “We played as a team. … This win is going to boost our overall morale, so I guess we can’t miss a step at all. We have to continue with everything that we have been doing.”
Although Ryken won in wire-to-wire fashion, the fourth quarter was a worrisome spot for Everly and the Knights as many of the shots that fell through the first three periods, did not fall in the fourth.
“We went cold [in the fourth quarter] and we don’t want to do that in any remaining games,” she said. “But, we got it done as a team and that is what I told them.”
Ryken will now face Holy Cross in a Saturday quarter-final contest scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Gallaudet University.
Lindsey Baumann led all Ireton scorers with 13 points albeit in the losing efforts.
St. Mary’s Ryken 57, Bishop Ireton 30
Ireton — 2 6 13 9; Baumann 13, Ala. Thurmond 8, Ojigbe 4, Ale. Thurmond 2, Daguilh 2, Robinson 1
Ryken — 11 20 12 14; Chambers-Hunter 16, Leddy 9, McCormick 7, Manigault 6, Kuhna 6, Logan 6, Combs 4, Fegeley 2, Darden 1
Boys:
St. Mary’s Ryken 73, Archbishop Carroll 51
The country of Turkey is nestled neatly between the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea separating the two.
Fitting that two of St. Mary’s Ryken basketball players –each from Turkey– helped separate the Knights from visiting Archbishop Carroll Thursday night as Gokhan Sirin and Gorkem Somez combined for 44 points in Ryken’s 73-51 victory over Carroll in a WCAC play-in contest.
With the environment of the playoffs and a capacity crowd on hand, Ryken started slow falling behind 12-9 to end the first quarter.
However, after the crowd settled in and the players did likewise, Ryken opened the second period on a 15-0 scoring rampage that opened up a 12-point, 24-9 lead, as the Knights went on to the eventual victory.
“The crowd was great, and I think the guys came out a little bit too psyched up,” Ryken head coach Dave Tallman said. ” … I told them, ‘This is your home court, it’s a play-off game, the crowd is here, and it is time for us to throw the first punch.’ I think it was our intensity and us wanting it more than they did.”
Sirin, who scored a game-high 27 points, scored six of his 27 during the second-quarter run and had the stroke from the outside as well knocking down five three-pointers in Ryken’s winning effort.
“Those guys are gym rats,” Tallman said of Sirin and Somez. “They love the game, they work their tail off. … We have been waiting for both of them to be on the same night and it happened tonight. Hopefully it continues, and I think it will. They have worked really hard, my entire senior class, and they deserve it.”
Somez added 17 points, respectively.
For the seniors of the Ryken team, Thursday night was the official last home game of their respective careers and for seniors such as team captain R.J. Buck, it was a memorable win.
“It’s exciting,” Buck admitted. “It’s a little sad, but it’s exciting to leave with a [win].”
Kemy Osse led Carroll with 17 points, respectively.
Ryken now draws No. 1 seed DeMatha, a game scheduled for Saturday at 2:45 p.m. at Gallaudet University.
“DeMatha is an unbelievable team, an unbelievable program,” Tallman said. “Their history and the status of their program is where we are trying to get. We are going up there with nothing to lose, we are going to play our hearts out, and leave it all out on the floor, and we will see what happens.”
St. Mary’s Ryken 73, Archbishop Carroll 51
Carroll — 12 6 17 16; Osse 17, Dauda 14, Price 10, Manga 5, D. Thompson 2, Cumberlander 2, M. Thompson 1
Ryken — 9 27 22 15; Sirin 27, Somez 17, Barker 8, Smith 7, Andrews 6, Smith 4, Barnett 2, Buck 1, Graham 1