Saturday night at the Art Turner Classic, Osbourn Park got 17 points from senior Key Rainey and 15 points from senior Samia Snead to defeat host Paul VI, 57-52.
“It means a lot,” said game MVP Snead after the win when asked about the victory. “PVI is a really good team. You come in here they’ve got their music, their fans, their boys team here…we played them in the Fall League last year and lost both times, so it means a lot.”
It was another step forward for a program that won a VHSL Class 6 state title last year, as Paul VI’s basketball programs are often nationally ranked and always highly regarded.
It hurt Paul VI that Panthers forward Demi Gilliam, who dominated with 15 first half points, developed foul trouble and didn’t play most of the second half. Even with that, PVI led most of the game, and 42-37 after three quarters.
Then Osbourn Park’s offense started to kick in, especially from beyond the arc. Snead hit a three to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, followed by sophomore guard Kai Jones doing the same to give the Jackets the lead. Paul VI checked Gilliam back in the game, but she fouled out a couple minutes later.
Even so, the Panthers’ centers, junior Lyla Ames and senior Katherine Maroulis, continued to hurt OP inside, along with senior guard Sravya Janapati. The Panthers re-took the lead, though Osbourn Park managed to battle back yet again to tie the game at 52 with under two minutes left on an acrobatic finish from senior guard Jayel West.
After a PVI turnover, Rainey delivered her only three-pointer of the game to put Osbourn Park up for good. Another Osbourn Park defensive stop forced the hosts to foul, and Snead hit two free throws to provide the final margin of victory.
“To be able to bounce back…we’re not a new team but we’re a little inexperienced,” said Snead, whose team relied on freshman center Kristina Dallas to partially offset PVI in the paint. “It means a lot. I’m super grateful to my teammates who kept us in the game, it’s a testament to our resilience.”
Osbourn Park hit seven of the their nine three-pointers on the night in the second half. Six players hit from beyond the arc with the Longwood commit Snead delivering three and junior Tierney Myers (10 points) two. Rainey, who is signed to play at Towson next year, did her usual great work on the boards, bringing down 11 rebounds.
Gilliam, a James Madison commit, finished with 18 points, while Janapati added 15. Ames scored all six of her points in the second half to help buoy her team while Gilliam was in the bench.
It was a bounce-back win for Osbourn Park (1-1), which had fallen to St. Anne’s Belfield the first day of Art Turner. It was the second consecutive tough loss for Paul VI (1-2), which was defeated in a close one to nationally-ranked Christ the King (NY) on Friday.
–Chris Jollay