Bowie girls make history against Bladensburg

Let it be known that the events which took place at Bowie High School last Friday were not scripted. The girls varsity basketball team was excited when the historic points were scored. There was hooting and cheering throughout the gymnasium. But no Bowie players or coaches were going to rub it in to the opposing players.

Bowie High senior Linnel Macklin dribbles her team toward a 94-point thumping of Bladensburg.

Bowie High coach Michael Hines instructs the Lady Bulldogs during a timeout. Bowie defeated Bladensburg 104-10.

Bowie High senior Keyanna Tate (20) takes a jumper over her Bladensburg counterparts during Bowie's 104-10 rout of its county foe.

The Lady Bulldogs (9-1, 6-0 P.G. 4A) jumped out to a 44-0 lead after just one quarter en route to a 104-10 throttling of Bladensburg (0-9, 0-5). Senior Linnel Macklin hit the first basket of the game and led the team in scoring with 23 points. Amara Mbionwu (18 points and 18 rebounds) was one of three Lady Bulldogs who scored a double-double. It was Mbionwu’s second of the season.

While the 96-point margin of victory proved to be a landmark win for the program — the team has never scored 100 points under coach Mike Hines — players and coaches agreed that the final score was nothing they were shooting for.

That’s not what we were going for," said Bowie assistant coach Darren Witherspoon. "We talked about winning with class at halftime (when the score was 65-3). We don’t look at the score, a W is a W. We want to win with class and we want to lose with class."

Mbionwu shared her teammates’ excitement and was frankly dismayed at the entire chain of events.

"We all worked together, of course," said Mbionwu, who is entertaining the possibilities of attending an Ivy League school among others. "I’ve never in my life seen a three-digit score in a high school game. It was just insane."

The Bowie starters only played the first and third quarters, and they outscored Bladensburg 66-5. The reserves, led mainly by Alexis Newbold (14 points, 10 rebounds), Nia Taylor (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Tyra Durrett (9 points, 9 rebounds), outscored the opposition 40-5.

"We wanted to come set the tone at the beginning," said Hines. "We were getting lots of good looks and executing well. This game is a testament to team unity and to these players. We want that (state title) banner. No question about it."

Defensively, the Lady Bulldogs stifled the Bladensburg offense. In the ominous first quarter, Bowie forced a 5-second violation, a shot clock violation and numerous other turnovers. Macklin and freshman Serena Brown each had steals which were converted into points at the other end.

"We play a good man-to-man defense, and that’s what happens when you execute it well," said Hines. "We tell them, ‘Do what you do. Play Bowie ball.’ "

In the second quarter, Ryan Maynard started the scoring with a 3-pointer, and Taylor added a 2-pointer before Bladensburg finally hit a free throw to make the score 48-1 with 6 minutes, 15 seconds remaining.

Following the third quarter, which ended with Bowie leading 86-8, Hines told his players to walk the ball up the court and not shoot hasty attempts. But with a shot clock and free throws, it was almost a certainty that the Lady Bulldogs would hit the 100-point mark. Following a Taylor steal and pass to Durrett who scored to put the score at 98-8, Maynard pulled up for a 3-pointer which found all net to give Bowie a 101-8 lead. The gymnasium erupted with excitement.

"We got close and the girls started getting excited," said Witherspoon. "Some people may interpret this win as a message (to county 4A teams), but it’s not meant that way."

JUNIOR VARSITY:Not to be outdone by their varsity counterparts, the Lady Bulldogs JV team defeated Bladensburg 77-29. Next up for both teams is Friday’s home meeting with High Point (2-8, 1-5 P.G. 4A).