Box Score
BEL AIR, Md.—The Harford women's basketball team put up a valiant fight, but ultimately fell to Anne Arundel, 60-48, in the final game in the 41-year history of Susquehanna Center in front of 332 fans on Thursday night.
The Fighting Owls (6-16) lost their fifth straight on the historic night, which saw the Harford squad don pink shoes and shoelaces and play with a pink ball in participation with the WBCA Pink ZoneTM initiative to help raise breast cancer awareness. The five-game losing skid ties Harford's longest stretch without a win, as they opened the 2008-09 season with an 0-5 record. The Pioneers (10-13) on the other hand have won two straight, and four of their last five, with their loss coming against Howard in overtime.
Sophomores Jasmine Parsons (Edgewood, Md./Joppatowne) and Marie Fox (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood) shined for Harford on sophomore night as Parsons tallied her fourth double-double of the season with season-highs of 15 points and 14 rebounds and Fox added 10 points and six rebounds.
Katie Beall led Anne Arundel with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists and steals each, while shooting 7-for-12 from the field and Jaclyn Nucci tacked on 17 points and six rebounds for the Pioneers.
The teams would battle back and forth for the first few minutes of the opening half, but after a Parsons jumper and a steal by Fox, which she followed with a fast-break layup, the Owls saw themselves up, 7-4, three minutes into the period.
Beall cut the lead to one with a jumper, but a layup by Parsons gave back the three-point lead to Harford, though it would be their last of the game, as Jade Hamilton connected on a long ball to tie things up at nine, with 15:37 to play, before Ashley Wagner added another trey with 14:28 to go.
The Owls would cut the deficit to one point on two occasions in the next minute and change, but the Pioneers would gradually chip away at the Harford defense until they held a 10-point, 29-19 advantage at 1:42 that would maintain until the half.
Harford would start the second half on a 10-4 run over the first 3:30 to come within four of Anne Arundel, 33-29, but the Pioneers would build the lead back to 10 points, 43-33 with 11:30 to go.
After a Parsons layup brought the advantage down to eight, Chelsea Rohleder notched a pair of free throws to bring the lead back to 10 before an 8-0 run by Harford put the Owls within two, 45-43 with 8:42 to play.
A Beall jumper put the Pioneers up by two, but Parsons buried two free throws of her own to make it a one possession game, before Beall drained a three to give Anne Arundel a 50-45 lead with 7:33 left.
One missed and made free throw by freshman Kiara Reeves (Aberdeen, Md./C. Milton Wright) brought the lead down to four, 50-46, but the Pioneers answered with eight straight points over the next 2:30 to take a 12-point, 58-46, advantage.
A jumper by Fox on the ensuing Harford possession brought the lead down to 10 with 3:42 remaining, but neither team would score for the next 3:06. The Owls had three scoring chances during that period, but turned the ball over once and missed three shots on two possessions before the Pioneers broke the scoring drought with two free throws from Wagner with 36 seconds left to take a 60-48 lead that they would hold until the final buzzer.
Harford honored its four sophomore players, Fox, Parsons, Hillary Scroggins (Riverside, Md./Tome) and Kelsey Jones (Joppa, Md./Fallston) in a pregame ceremony, while also commemorating the 41-year history of the Susquehanna Center with a ceremonial last basket by Harford Community College President Dr. Jim LaCalle.
The Fighting Owls have finished regular-season competition, due to a win by forfeit for their last scheduled game against Prince George's and will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 17 when they will participate in the MDJUCO Play-In Game with an opponent yet to be determined.
