• Tournament: NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Tournament
• Opponent: Gulf Coast State Commodores
• Score: # 17 Harford  – #1 Gulf Coast
• Records: #17 Harford 29-3 – #1 Gulf Coast 30-2
• Location: Lubbock, Texas – Lubbock Christian University
• The Short Story: The Harford women's basketball team had their historic season come to an end as they fell in the sweet sixteen match-up against the #1 seeded team in the tournament. Harford suffered an abysmal second quarter that proved too much to recover from, but ended up outscoring the top dog in the second half in a great display of grit.
• Box Score: Click Here

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Daisa Harris got out to a good start, hitting 11 points in the first quarter.
• Dahnye Redd was big in the first quarter with six rebounds, but picked up her second foul early and hit the pine.
• Dominique Walker also picked up two early fouls as Harford was forced to use their bench forwards more than they usually would.
• Gulf Coast took advantage of this early on as forward Jhileya Dunlap scored nine points in the opening 10 minutes and finished the game with 18.
• Harford did a good job shooting in the first quarter making 3-7 from behind the arc and trailed 21-20 after the first stanza.
• Nicole Sharpe made a nice lay up on a behind the back pass by Danielle Durjan to break the Commodores run.
• The Commodores were absolutely on fire in the second quarter, culminated by a four point play by Taylor Emery as Gulf Coast put in 34 points in the stanza with runs of 15-0 and 10-0. Emery went on to score 32 points in the game to lead all scorers.
• Harris decided to put the team on her back out of the break as she scored 10 points in the opening five minutes of the second half.
• Danielle Durjan also got hot in the second half as she scored 16 of her 22 points after halftime.
• The early fouls for the Harford starting forwards caught up to them at the end as both Dominique Walker and Dahnye Redd fouled out in the fourth quarter as both faced the daunting task of guarding some of the best forwards in the country.
• The Fighting Owls finished the game strong as the outscored their opponents 39-33 in the second half, but the damage that was done in the second quarter was ultimately too much for Harford to overcome.

 
GAME QUOTES AND NOTES:
Head Coach Michael Seney: "First of all, I have to tip my hat to Gulf Coast; they are who we thought they were. I thought the game came down to that second quarter, that was the game. They showed why they were the number one team all game long, but in that second quarter it just seemed like they couldn't miss. I think we got the shots that we wanted to get, they were just not falling. When Walker and Redd got into foul trouble I think it deflated us inside and Gulf Caost took advantage of tha, but they kept fighting until the very end. We received two great years from Dominique Walker; people keep talking about the great guards we have and I have two of them right beside me. But Dominique has been a rock for us and I am excited to have Dahnye Redd coming back next year and her future is bright. I told the girls in the locker room that there is nothing better then to have the respect of your peers, and I feel like a lot of peers around the nation respect Harford now."

Sophomore Guard Daisa Harris: "I knew we have the kind of team that can fight back. Coach Mike told me to keep attacking the lane so I just kept fighting to do what the team needed. It was great playing for Harford the past two years. When we lost in the district finals, I didn't play great and I regretted it. But I was glad to have a couple more games playing for Coach Mike; I knew I had to give it my all out here because I love this guy like a father figure."

Sophomore Guard Danielle Durjan: "We fought back as a team in that second half, we were still hungry. We were not going to let them knock us down and give up, if they were going to beat us we were going to make them earn it I feel like if we were going to go out, at least it was to the number one team. I wish we could have won a national championship but I had a great year. I put a lot of trust into coach Mike when I transferred here, but he put a lot of faith in me. I feel like everything he told me he has done and I am thankful for it."

• Daisa Harris finished her last game as a Fighting Owl in style as she scored 26 points along with seven rebounds, five assists, and a couple of blocks. She will be remembered as one of if not the best players to ever play for the program. She will continue her playing career at nearby Towson University next year.
• Fellow two-year Harford player Dominique Walker scored 10 points as she will leave Harford as the record holder for rebounds and blocks for both season and career.
• Danielle Durjan scored 22 points in her final game in Harford blue including six three-pointers.
• Dahnye Redd was a warrior in the paint as she grabbed seven rebounds in the first quarter alone before getting into foul trouble. She finished with 13 boards for the game along with eight points.
• Sophomore guard Nazje Norton was unable to repeat her heroic effort that she gave in the first round of the tournament, but the local player will be missed after a very productive two-year career at Harford.
• Joy Morton played 27 minutes in the game and gave a great effort to fill the void left by the Harford starting forwards getting into foul trouble. She pulled down seven rebounds to go along with some tough defense.

UP NEXT:

• Harford's historic season ends after an amazing year that saw them win conference regular season and postseason titles as well as a regional championship and make the sweet sixteen in the national tournament.
• The Fighting Owls will be forced to say goodbye to an incredible sophomore class, but head coach Mike Seney has built a powerhouse program that will surely have the tools to become a perennial contender at the national level.