Game Results 

 PBA Playoff Summaries --------- 

PBA JV Girls Take Care of Business!
Beat Ballenger Creek for Championship, Finish 18-1

The scoreboard and the high fives tell the whole story and the PBA JV Girls are all smiles after beating Ballenger Creek for the Mid-Maryland League Division 2 championship. Top row, from left:  Coach Brian Carnahan, Jaime Baker, Shannon Hemp, Haley Davison, Noelle Decenzo, Kelly Hughes, Kelsey Carnahan, Coach Cathy Carnahan. Bottom row:  Carmen Maita, Kassidy Florczyk, Allie Greene, Whitney Carmack, Jocelyn Bodmer. Photo by Tom Amiot.

PBA JV Girl Haley Davison gets ready to pull down a rebound in traffic in Sunday's big game. Allie Greene is a girl in motion as she looks to pass or shoot against the Lady Bulldogs. Photos by Tom Amiot.

Jessie Maloney appears to have the inside track for the rebound in the Rising Star Girls win over Clarksburg on Sunday. Teammate Alyssa Nubgaard zeros in on the bucket against Clarksburg. Photos by Tom Amiot. (For reprints, contact Tom at JCPhotoClub@aol.com).

Since the first game of the season, it was obvious it would come down to this---The PBA JV Girls would play Ballenger Creek for the Mid-Maryland League Division 2 championship. The season played out like it was supposed to after that first game, which was a season-opening defeat (and a real eye-opener) for Cathy Carnahan's crew at the hands of the Lady Bulldogs. The JV Girls regrouped in a big way. They went undefeated for the rest of the season, and after a first round bye, the Falcons crushed Boonsboro to advance to the tournament final. The Division 2 Championship Game was set. It was time for Poolesville-Ballenger Creek Part 3---the Final Chapter (for this year anyway!).

It couldn't have started much worse. The Lady Bulldogs rolled out to a 6-0 start, and the only high mark on the scoreboard for Poolesville was the foul column---Ballenger Creek was not called for an infraction while the fowlin' Falcons quickly put the Lady Bulldogs in the bonus-in the first period. The JV Girls righted themselves (as they have done when challenged all season) and got down to business. Haley Davison (four points, four rebounds) made a sweet inside pass to Jocelyn Bodmer (12 points, five rebounds) to get Poolesville on the scoreboard. Jaime Baker hit Davison to make it 6-4, then Kelsey Carnahan fed Kelly Hughes at the top of the key. Hughes hit a bank shot to make it 6-6. The Falcons first quarter outburst was nowhere near done, though. Hughes (team-high 17 points, four steals) hit a three-pointer to make it 9-6, then Carnahan (eight points, seven assists) nailed two treys. Shannon Hemp, Whitney Carmack, Carmen Maita, Kassidy Florczyk and Noelle Decenzo held the fort down for the balance of the period and Poolesville held a 15-12 lead at the end of the wild first quarter.

Hughes opened up the second quarter with a drive and an "and one". Poolesville then went on an extended cold streak and found themselves trailing 23-18 halfway through the period. The two JB's, Bodmer and Baker, then took over. Baker hit a jumper to make it 23-20. Bodmer then out-muscled and scored on three straight possessions. Baker hit another jumper, then fed the ball to Bodmer for another short bucket. The end result? A nice Poolesville comeback and a 30-25 lead at the half.

Hughes performed her usual magic by converting a Carnahan pass for a long two to give the JV Girls a seven-point lead at the start of the third quarter. Davison nailed a short lefty jumper, then Hughes hit another trey and two free throws. Ballenger Creek matched those buckets, but Allie Greene came up with a nice stretch of basketball (short jumper and a dart of a pass to Carnahan who converted the bucket) and Bodmer hit a free throw to make it 44-37 with a couple of minutes left. In between a few missed free throws, the JV Girls got buckets from Hughes, Davison (on a pass from Hughes), and a free throw from Bodmer to put the game out of reach for Ballenger Creek, With Carnahan at the helm, Poolesville successfully held the ball for over a minute late in the fourth period. The end result? A 49-39 Poolesville win, the JV Girls fourth consecutive championship in a row, and a mandate to complete their team goal since Day One----to win every championship in every league, division, and tournament they participate in as a PBA team

"I thought we played our best game of the year today," said Coach Cathy Carnahan. "Ballenger Creek was ready for us and they played well too. They tried to disrupt us by playing a box-in-one on Kelsey (Carnahan), which is a bit unusual since Kelly (Hughes) has been our leading scorer all year. They wanted to disrupt our offense. It worked in the beginning, plus I think our girls were a bit nervous when Ballenger Creek jumped out to the early lead. Kelly and Jaime (Baker) moved real well on offense and they ended up getting their looks. Jocelyn was real strong inside----it's a mistake not to have someone on her all game long---and she made them pay. Haley was strong too, even though she had foul trouble. I thought Allie Greene gave us a lift when she came in. I think I'm most proud of the fact that we played well as a team all year. I saw a lot of high fives out there today!'

The win completes the JV Girls season and they finish with a final record of 18-1. Their two winter-season record now stands at 27-2.

PBA Varsity Girls Find Going Tough Against Smithsburg

The PBA Varsity Girls finished their season with a stinging 48-37 opening round Mid-Maryland League Division 2 tournament loss to Smithsburg. The first quarter was evenly played and Poolesville held a four-point lead moving into the second period. The roof fell in on the Falcons at that point. Smithsburg outscored the Varsity Girls 16-2 for the rest of the half with six of the points coming from the charity stripe, a place Smithsburg visited frequently. How frequent is frequently? The "visitors" from Washington County (where the tournament was played) hit the free throw line an astounding 44 times for the game. They hit 12 free throws in the fourth quarter alone. So while Poolesville fought back in the second half (it was played almost to a draw), Smithsburg picked up the win via the old-fashioned method-----getting to the line and hitting the freebies. Lindsay Poss capped her season with a 13-point effort. Allyson Dahlen hit for nine points, Patti Maloney hit for six, Meredith Jones scored five points and Kelly Weber and Amy Defnet also scored.

The loss does little to tarnish the three-year run for the Varsity Girls. They finished the season with a 10-7 record and ran their three-year winter league record to 32-15. The team is stocked with players that will make an impact at the high school level. "It seems like we had different players step up in just about every game this year-especially towards the end of the season," said Coach John Weber. "Our problem is that we couldn't get the players to consistently step up together and that hurt us. I've enjoyed working with the girls and I hope they'll work hard to make it at the next level."

PBA JV Boys Fall in Final, Rising Star Boys Still Kicking

The PBA JV Boys won their first two games of the Mid-Maryland League "A" Tournament last weekend but fell to a wild, undisciplined, but in the end, more athletic Glenwood squad in the championship game by a final score of 43-22. The PBA JV Boys finished the season with a 17-4 record and high hopes for next season as they move up to the Varsity ranks. "Playing Glenwood was like trying to train a pack of wild dogs," said Coach Marshall Micheals. "It didn't help that we played the championship in their house either. It seems like the rules are different up there. Our guys will be more prepared for that type of environment in the future. I thought we had a great season and it seems like every player improved. I like our team and our chances next year."

The PBA JV Boys opened up the playoffs with a 49-23 win over Catoctin. Tony Clements led the balanced Falcon attack with 11 points. Nine Poolesville players were in the scoring column with Robbie Lentz scoring 10 points, Thomas Wolz and Collin Turner hitting for six each, and Brian Dillon scoring five points. Wolz also recorded three blocked shots.

In semi-final action, Poolesville torched Brunswick by a final score of 41-23. The Railroaders managed to de-rail the Poolesville attack in the first half by slowing down the high-flying Falcons through the use of a very deliberate offense and a collapsing zone defense. The game could be renamed the "Tale of Two Halves" as Poolesville switched to a man-to-man full court press in the second half, which ended up creating some offense for the Falcons. Behind two three-pointers by tournament MVP candidate Collin Turner, Poolesville scored 14 points in the third quarter and held Brunswick to a mere two points. Turner led all scorers with 17 points with Tony Clements (8), Brian Dillon (6), and Kirby Carmack (6) also contributing for the Falcons.

The PBA Rising Star Boys beat the Freedom last Sunday by a final score of 42-36 in their MOCO Rising Star playoff opener. Andy Baker (the Point Maker) hit for 18 points and running mate Trevor Stottlemyer scored 13 points in the win. The Falcons went 13-for-16 from the free throw line to ice the victory. "Our guys must have taken six charges today," said Coach Larry Hurd. "They played excellent defense for the first three quarters and then we kind of held on there at the end." In addition to Baker and Stottlemyer's efforts, the Rising Star Boys also received six points from Mitchell Poe and five points from Robbie Metz. The Rising Star Boys face the Warriors in second round playoff action on Saturday night at 8:15 PM at the Upper County Community Center (directions can be found on www.PBAHoops.com under "Directions").

The PBA Rising Star Girls fell victim to a short-lived but fatal scoring burst by the Maryland Lightning as the youngest Falcons lost in first-round MOCO Rising Star playoff action by a final score of 27-21. The game was tied several times throughout the contest, with Poolesville even holding a lead at 16-14 behind a Jessie Maloney (six points) jumper and a Whitney Carmack (seven points) steal and a lay-up. The Lightning lived up to their team name, unfortunately, as they scored six points in less than a minute to take a 10-point lead. The Falcons fought back behind another Carmack score and three points from Mackenzie Fields, but it was too little, too late. "We came a long way this year," said Coach Sandy Chittenden. "The girls learned how to press, how to run a press break, a few inbounds plays, our basic offense, and a lot of fundamentals. We've got a long way to go to get ready for the Mid-Maryland season next winter but we'll get there." Sarah Kenneweg and Alyssa Nubgaard also scored in the loss.

 PBA and PHS Playoff Summaries 

 Poolesville High School Varsity Basketball 
 Maryland State 1A West Regional Tournament  

Varsity Girls-----------
Poolesville (#1 seed East Sectional) beat Catoctin (#5) 53-23 on Monday (3/3).
Poolesville beat Williamsport (#6) 48-35 on Wednesday night.
Poolesville lost to Allegheny (#1 West Sectional) 54-47 in the 1A West Regional Championship on Saturday (3/8) at Frostburg State University. Their season is now over. The Varsity Girls finish with a season record of 19-6. Congrats to seniors (and ex-PBA'ers) Rachel Stream, Cori Rosenberg, and Jess Brown for their dedication, hard work, and success at PHS.

Varsity Boys-----------
Poolesville (#7 seed) beat Brunswick (#2) 47-37 on Saturday night.
Poolesville beat Catoctin (#3) 53-39 on Tuesday night.
Poolesville beat Williamsport (#1) 49-37 on Thursday night.
Poolesville lost to Fort Hill (#1 West Sectional) 52-47 in the Regional Championship on Saturday (3/8) at Frostburg State University. Their season is now over. The Varsity Boys finish with a record of 16-10. Congrats to seniors (and ex-PBA'ers) Daniel Camillo, Matt Robillard, and Joe Miller for their dedication, hard work, and success at PHS.

 PBA JV and Varsity Boys Mid-Maryland League "A" Tournament ---------------- 

PBA Varsity Boys (#8 seed) lost 32-26 to St. Johns (#9) on Friday (2/29). Their season is over.

The PBA JV Boys lost to Glenwood by a final score of 43-22 in Mid-Maryland League "A" Tournament Championship on Monday (3/3). Their season is now over. The PBA JV Boys (#2) beat Catoctin (#7) 49-23 on Saturday (3/1). They beat Brunswick (#3) 41-23 on Sunday (3/2).

For more information, http://www.fred.net/dcline/mmbball/mmtour2008.html

 PBA Rising Star Boys and Girls MOCO Tournament --------------- 

PBA Rising Star Boys beat Freedom, 42-36, on Sunday (3/2).
Rising Star Boys beat the Warriors on Saturday (3/8)
The Rising Star Boys fell to Germantown in the MOCO Rising Star Regional semi-finals. 

PBA Rising Star Girls lost a close one to the Maryland Lightning by a score of 27-21 on Sunday (3/2). 

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***Mini, Junior and Falcon Camp Photo Album has been posted under "Camp Information"!***

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Go to "PBA Player Info" to find a listing of all 2007-08 PBA Award Winners!