Win or lose, it was icing on the cake for Northern

Mike Mathews
Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Mon Mar 14, 2011, 08:01 AM EDT

— They knew what was coming but this time couldn’t stop it.

It was a pretty helpless feeling Saturday night for the Northern Huskies, whose history-making season ended in an 80-62 loss to Dunbar in the Class 1A girls basketball state championship game.

All year long the tough, talented but vertically-challenged Huskies found a way to make up for the only item lacking on their resume.

But Dunbar, with 5-foot-9 junior Michelle Wright and 6-foot-3 senior Oma-ah Tayong, was too tall an order.

The size of Wright (40 points, 21 rebounds) and Tayong (19 points, 15 rebounds) was one thing. Their strength and athleticism made the Poets (20-4) too much to handle, not just for Northern (23-5) but for just about everyone on their schedule. In the two state tournament games they combined for 100 points and 59 rebounds.

Wright’s 40-point game was the fifth-highest total in state tournament history, and eight points shy of the championship game record set by Loch Raven’s Janet Flora 35 years ago.

“Michelle Wright ... she’s a stud, and plays so hard. We had no answer for her,’’ admitted Northern coach Steve Fratz. “And they throw in a 6-3 girl in there, too ... it made it pretty difficult.”

The Poets took advantage of the mismatch all night, often lobbing passes over the Huskies defense for easy shots at the low post.

“We knew their high-low game was their bread and butter,’’ Fratz said. “Wright is so active and moves well without the ball. She’s very strong and a very good leaper.”

The Huskies pretty much matched the Poets in scoring (Dunbar, 21-18) and rebounding (Dunbar, 8-6) in the first quarter, but the Poets out-rebounded the Huskies 13-3 in the second quarter, and the numbers didn’t get any better in the second half.

“The big people we’ve played this year were not as athletic as the ones Dunbar had,’’ said Northern forward Morgan Brosnihan. “And they had more big people than we’re used to seeing.”

Still, the Huskies were well within striking distance at halftime, down by 42-33.

“We thought we could come back by playing hard, pushing and pressuring the ball, and boxing out’’ said guard Terra McKenzie. “That was the attitude at halftime.”

But it wasn’t to be. Dunbar ended up with a 50-21 edge in rebounds, and had 24 offensive rebounds to only five for Northern.

“We played a complete game ... two halves of basketball,’’ said Dunbar coach Wardell Selby. “We had been playing only one half. We knew we wanted to get the ball inside and we kept pounding and pounding it inside. With the height we had, we thought we could wear them down.”

It comes so abruptly, the end of a season does, that it doesn’t seem fair. Only one of the 50 Class 1A teams wins its final game, and this year it was Dunbar.

Northern needed a perfect game Saturday, and nothing less. It didn’t happen.

The Huskies went the first 4:55 of the second half without a field goal, and two starters picked up their fourth fouls.

For the Huskies, one Fratz on the sideline is good. Two, not so good. But that was the case when Kaitlynn picked up her fifth foul with 7:12 to go. It was the first time she had fouled out all season.

“They play a high pressure defense, and our shots weren’t falling. Even our foul shots weren’t,” said Kaitlynn Fratz, whose 2,103 career points is a school and Garrett County record.

Northern, one of the top foul shooting teams in the area, shot 10-for-19 from the line over the first three quarters, and finished 18-for-31.

Fratz, McKenzie and Brosnihan, Northern’s seniors, helped lift the program to new heights during their careers.

“Since the sixth grade we’ve accomplished an awful lot,’’ said McKenzie. “From youth league championships to the AMAC ... it’s been a great ride.”

It was more than just the Huskies that made the state tournament. Their vocal throng of fans didn’t disappoint, either.

“We beat Allegany, we beat Smithsburg, we beat tough teams and there is nothing much more you can ask for,” Kaitlynn Fratz said. “It’s been great. Our fans were great, even when we were getting beat by 20 they never stopped.”

“Our home games ... You kind of got a taste of it by the crowd we had here. Our home games are crazy, and they were great experiences. It was an awesome trip and we had a great time. We fell a little short, but we are the second team in Northern history to do this so it feels pretty great.”

“When these girls were sixth graders we came here to see our county rival (Southern) win the state championship (in 2004). Ever since then, that’s been our goal,” Coach Fratz said of a championship.

The 23 wins were the most of any Northern basketball team, boys or girls. Kaitlynn Fratz finished No. 1 in career scoring, McKenzie is No. 2 in career three-point goals and Brosnihan No. 3 in career foul shooting.

“This is a record-setting squad and I could go on and on and on,’’ coach Fratz said. “To get here was icing on the cake, win or lose.”

Mike Mathews is a Cumberland Times-News sportswriter. Write to him at mmathews@times-news.com

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