[Baltimore Sun] Glen Burnie girls basketball routs Meade, 45-27, behind Starr Munford’s 14 points
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Starr Munford remembered what happened last time her Glen Burnie Gophers were on Meade’s court.
The defending Class 4A state champions walked in and swallowed an early 48-40 loss from a team it had no problem dropping the year before.
“Yeah,” Munford said. “I knew I had to get that win. We weren’t together then. Today? We worked hard.”
The Gophers sophomore felt the win growing around her the moment she stepped foot on the floor. With her, Glen Burnie dominated Meade in the third quarter and knocking its neighbor out of the Class 4A East Region I playoffs, 45-27. It was their third meeting, but a far more conclusive end compared to the Gophers’ seven-point win at home last time out.
The Gophers know their region final opponent, Crofton, who’ll host them at 6 p.m. Wednesday, beat them by 14 last time. They don’t care.
“People think we’re not good anymore without those starting five, but personally? We’re good,” Munford said. “We’re building up the legacy, trying to get to where we was.”
When Glen Burnie graduated all five starters — including two-time Player of the Year Amourie Porter — the subsequent vacuum in leadership was inevitable. Starr and her sister Trinity acknowledged the bitter work, and said it had less to do with ball skills and drills and everything to do with accountability for one another’s mistakes.
Over time, more recently, coach Sam Porter’s seen the chemistry brewing. So that when the Gophers did approach the veritable boot camp he laid out for them leading up to the start of playoffs, they’d have the trust in one another to weather it.
“Practices leading to playoffs were the hardest we ever had. Lot of running, a lot of going at each other,” Trinity Munford said. “And I think that’s what prepared us for today.”
Glen Burnie gained confidence in the post early in the first quarter, it set the tempo of the game. The Gophers consumed healthy portions of their shot clock to curate the right shot, taking a 10-6 lead before Meade snapped in.
The Mustangs got as close as 13-11, but when the Munfords picked up some wind beneath their feet, it was hard for the Mustangs to stop them.
Starr Munford drilled two, one on transition, while Trinity drained a trey to keep Glen Burnie ahead, 17-12, at the half. They kept it up in the third with a triple from Trinity and Starr’s steal for a cross-court fast break to a layup.
“Trinity has really been stepping up and starting to come out of her shell, starting to lead like we know she can,” Porter said.
For Trinity Munford, it was all about the press. She and her sister took on vital guarding duties. When senior Evhan Smith got a steal and raced for an easy make, Trinity Munford descended upon her like a cheetah for a block.
“They couldn’t handle it,” Trinity Munford said. “We saw they were rattled. That’s what really amped it up.”
From their wellspring, the Gophers shooters loosened up. Senior Maya Matthews rocketed back-to-back 3-pointers with Shamaree Johnson and Starr Munford complimenting her before Matthews hit another 3.
“We’re peaking at the right time. We got a little rotation down solid to where we’re not missing anything when we pull players off,” Porter said. “We’ve had games where we had opportunities and we didn’t put the ball in the basket. Tonight, we put the ball in the basket.”
The Mustangs had little else but failed free throw shooting in reply. And yet, the Mustangs were not extinguished yet after a 38-18 third-frame finish.
Defensively, Meade drove Glen Burnie’s shooters back to their burrows for several minutes while the Mustangs got to work drawing fouls and chipping away. But even an improved ratio at the foul line just was not enough. Meade needed firepower, and it was put on a waitlist.
Glen Burnie put a stop to it nonetheless. Trinity Munford settled in at the perimeter and ended the scoring drought — and a Meade 7-0 run — with a 3-pointer.
“Because it’s up to us to keep the team at high level. If our energy drops, the whole team drops,” Trinity Munford said.
Energy will be necessary to maintain against Crofton, and the pressure that flows through its players seasoned by success.
“We just go to the drawing board and we prep, that’s all,” Porter said. “At the end of the day, it’s about what we do. We dictate what happens on the court.”
Glen Burnie — 8 9 21 7 — 45
Meade — 6 6 6 9 — 27
GB: S. Munford 14, Matthews 11, Johnson 9, T. Munford 9, Gilbert 2
ME: House 8, Smith 7, Williams 4, Dailey 3, Pace 2, Black 2, Moore 1
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