By Chris Stevens, Editor
Last February, the Brandywine girls’ basketball team experienced the heartbreak of letting a double digit lead and the Flight B title slip away.
367 days later, they experienced the thrill of rallying from 12 points down to claim the title they long believed was theirs.
A stifling pressure defense and 11 second half points from junior guard/forward Layla Dallam pushed the Bulldogs (9-0 overall, 9-0 Flight B) to a 50-40 win over host Howard, finishing their Flight B schedule with an undefeated record and the conference title.
Last season, Brandywine saw a 22-point lead disappear in their game vs. A.I. duPont, leading to a 36-34 overtime loss. This year, they Bulldogs pulled off the comeback with plenty of time to spare.
“This means a lot,” said Dallam, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “Our teams were bad, my freshman year, Armani’s freshman year, so this is great.”
“We just woke up in the second half,” added senior guard Armani Bell-Jackson, who scored 12 points. “Our coach talked to us and we just started playing defense.”
Howard (6-2, 6-1 Flight B) led 26-14 late in the first half behind Janel Washington’s eight points. Dallam scored a late bucket to cut the lead to 10 at the half, then the trio of Dallam, Bell-Jackson and junior Arionna Williams ripped off a 12-0 start to the third quarter for a brief 28-26 lead. Howard finished the third quarter scoring seven of the last nine points for a 33-30 advantage after three.
Junior center Lonya Roberts’ layup pushed the Wildcat lead to 36-30 with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but Dallam once again sparked another outburst with 9 points in a 20-4 run to close the game and seal the conference championship.
