All season long, Poly girls basketball has followed the lead of senior Bri Pope and sophomore London Elliott. Friday night at Milford Mill was no different, as the dynamic duo paved the way for a 41-37 victory in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
Pope finished with a game-high 13 points and 12 rebounds (nine offensive), while Elliott had 12 points and 10 rebounds and made four clutch free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory.
“I was hungry,” Pope said. “I just wanted to get every board to help my team.”
Elliott, who had 25 points on Thursday night in an overtime victory over Edgewood in the regional championship game, had the same sentiment.
“I’m proud of my team when I wasn’t able to step up and do what I was supposed to do,” she said. “Out of everybody in our conference, nobody can stop me and Bri in a post-and-guard position.”
Poly (18-9) advances to the state semifinals next Tuesday or Wednesday, while Milford Mill ends the season with a 21-5 mark. Tristian Savage (11 points), Tatyana Fields (nine) and Haylee Clark (eight) led the Millers’ offense.
Both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm, but both defenses maintained their intensity all game.
“I feel like we played good defense,” Elliott said. “We had a few mistakes that we are going to fix in order to get our ring this year in the seniors’ last year.”
That Engineers’ defense came up biggest in the fourth quarter when they held the Millers to seven points, including just one in the final 1:18. They also forced five of Milford Mill’s 17 turnovers.
After Clark’s free throw tied the game at 36, Elliott’s free throw 30 seconds later gave the Engineers a lead they would never relinquish.
“[Pope and Elliott] are just good teammates” Poly coach Kendall Peace-Able said. “I’m trying to get them all to learn how this game is beautiful when you play it for one another.”
Poly opened the game with six straight points, but coach Candyce Jeter’s Millers stayed close thanks to 3-pointers by Clark and Savage.
Poly bumped the lead to 20-16 at halftime thanks to four points from Alia Austin in the second quarter.
Savage spearheaded a comeback bid in the third when she scored seven points and helped rally her squad. Alannah Jones’ 3-pointer gave the Millers a 30-28 lead at the break.
“[Savage] has been our floor general and she has been a pivotal piece for what we’ve been building here for four years,” Milford Mill assistant coach Tevin Hanner said. “Step by step, she has been setting the table for us and she was every bit as important for everything we’ve been doing these last four years.”
Fields, who had 38 points earlier in the season in the Baltimore County championship game loss to Pikesville, has also been a key weapon all season, and her two baskets early in the fourth quarter made it 34-30.
But her field goal with 6:44 left in the game was the last one for the Millers, and although her 12 points were lower than her season average, she still contributed eight rebounds.
“That one game doesn’t define Tatyana Fields,” Hanner said. “Tatyana Fields has been special for us for four years. I’m just happy that people finally opened their eyes and noticed the talent that we’ve been appreciative to have for four years. She’s going to go on to do great things.
“It was very unfortunate that we didn’t make a few more plays and get the job done. Hats off to Poly, it’s a heck of a team, heck of a program, but that’s been us all year and that will continue to be us.”
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POLY — 9-11-8-13— 41
MM — 6-10-14-7 — 37
POLY: Bri Pope 13, London Elliott 12, Alla Austin 8, Alexis Smothers 4, Darren Moore 4.
MM: Tristian Savage 11, Tatyana Fields 9, Haylee Clark 8, Karisma Martin 1, Jasmine Bryant 3, Alannah Jones 3, Kiaya Smith 1, Nysiah Rickmon 1.