Chelsea Clark

koelble@herald-mail.com Walkersville played like a defending state champion. North Hagerstown played like a team looking to find some respectability. The end result was what was expected. Walkersville handled North 78-40 on Friday night for the Lions' third straight win of the young season while the Hubs fell to 0-2. Walkersville coach Mike Mathis said he thought his veteran Lions, who only lost Koffie Harrison from last year's Maryland Class 2A state title team, were a little sluggish in the start offensively.

Records don't mean anything in a rivalry. So when North Hagerstown and South Hagerstown meet, you might as well throw wins and losses out the window. On Wednesday night, the Rebels pulled off a 50-44 upset at home over the Hubs in an MVAL Antietam girls' basketball game. "You could tell that my players had the intensity. They really wanted to win this ballgame," South Hagerstown coach Stacey Zeger said. "Our defense was awesome. We mixed it up really well. We probably played four different defenses tonight.

First Team Kristen Waeber Jr. F Middletown Player of the Year Frederick County schools have a ton of individual talent, and no individual was better on the hardcourts than the Knights' leader. Waeber averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals to lead Middletown to the MVAL Piedmont title. Emily Balogh Sr. G Catoctin Balogh averaged 14.3 points and 2.3 steals per game as Catoctin reached the Md. Class 1A semifinals. Samantha Cain Sr. F Southern Fulton Cain averaged 16.3 points and 6 rebounds per game and made 56 3-pointers to lead the Indians to the PIAA District 5-A title.

GIRLS BASKETBALL BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Emily McCoy scored 17 points and Heather Shaw had 14 to lead Berkeley Springs to a 61-41 season-opening win over Hancock Wednesday. Dana Beaver led Hancock (0-2) with 14 points and eight rebounds. Goretti 38, Clear Spring 24 CLEAR SPRING - Katie Martin scored 10 points and Tasha Deneen had nine to lead St. Maria Goretti past Clear Spring. Leigh Ann Bearden had 10 rebounds for Clear Spring (0-1). Southern Fulton 56 Scotland 38 WARFORDSBURG, Pa. - Sam Cain led Southern Fulton to the win over Scotland with 21 points and eight rebounds.

bobp@herald-mail.com Cara Thompson showed the instincts of a boxer on Friday. She was still standing at the final bell, which may have been the best thing she did all night for the North Hagerstown girls basketball team. Thompson scored a game-high 16 points, but became invaluable to the Hubs as a calming influence while distributing the ball to help North counterpunch for a 45-35 victory over Williamsport in the MVAL Antietam opener for both teams. "(Thompson)

kauffman@herald-mail.com For six stellar minutes Friday night, Boonsboro's girls basketball team showed what it can do when everything is clicking. All five starters scored in an eye-opening 15-2 run to start the game, and the No. 8 Warriors won the season's rubber match with North Hagerstown, never trailing in a one-sided 67-48 affair. "We have five kids and all five are tough, hardened basketball players," Boonsboro coach Bernie Semler said. "They can all score and they all play well together.

WOMEN'S HOOPS Dee Brown had 14 points, eight assists and three steals to lead Hagerstown Community College to a 77-35 victory over Anne Arundel in a Maryland JuCo Conference game at the HCC athletic complex on Saturday. Chrissy Ennis and Veronica Johnson each added 13 points for the Hawks (8-3, 4-1), while Erica McDavid had 12 of the team's 55 rebounds. BOYS BASKETBALL Middletown 58, Brunswick 56 BRUNSWICK, Md. - Middletown overcame a sluggish third quarter and rallied to beat Brunswick on Friday.

kauffman@herald-mail.com Smithsburg center Laura Sudec might want to try her hand at fishing. Her catch-and-release technique certainly doomed North Hagerstown on Tuesday night. Sudec went to work casting aside the Hubs in the middle quarters, scoring all 18 of her points. The Leopards outscored North 32-16 to wiggle off the hook of an early deficit and swim away to a 52-44 victory over North in an MVAL Antietam contest. Trailing 14-8 after the first quarter, Smithsburg (8-5, 4-2)

kauffman@herald-mail.com If last year's North Hagerstown girls basketball team was the Clark and Thompson Show - featuring center Chelsea Clark, now at Division I Radford University, and point guard Cara Thompson - this year's act reads more like an attorney's office. It's the Thompson-Morel-Powell-Jackson hoops firm - with a double dose of Wheeler thrown in. The Hubs' six-player whirlwind left Liberty in the dust in both teams' opener Tuesday night, as North deflated the Lions with a 17-0 first-half run on the way to a 57-44 victory.

koelble@herald-mail.com There were two questions to be answered heading into Monday's girls basketball battle between North Hagerstown and South Hagerstown. Who would escape the Monocacy Valley Athletic League basement and get their first win of the year over someone other than Clear Spring? In a hotly contested 32 minutes, it was North that ended up with a 42-37 victory despite a horrid shooting evening that resulted in 24 percent shooting from both the field and the foul line.