Malloy, Joppatowne handles Fallston

The rematch was a mismatch Tuesday evening as No. 3 Joppatowne High girls’ basketball throttled No. 10 Fallston, 59-34, in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division contest.

Senior guard Zameria Jones led all scorers with 18 points for Joppatowne (14-0 overall, 6-0 Chesapeake), and Shakara Head added 17. Rachael Holehouse had 13 points for Fallston (11-4, 4-2 Chesapeake), and junior forward Alyssa March finished with 11.

The defending Class 1A state champ Mariners dominated the second half to complete a sweep of the reigning Class 2A champions. Joppatowne posted a hard fought 56-49 decision on its home court last month.

Mariners coach Michael Harris said his team’s upped the ante defensively Tuesday.

“We believed we’re a tough team if we don’t give you any holes for 30 seconds,” said Harris. “A lot of programs overplay, jump in the lanes and we say ‘let’s make this team come get us.’”

“We stayed in our man-to-man. As a team, we told our coach that would be best for us,” said Mariners point guard TroiQuay Malloy.

Malloy, who came up with a steal and winning basket in the Mariners’ biggest game to date a few weeks ago against No. 4 Aberdeen, continued establishing herself as Joppatowne’s floor general. The St. Frances Academy transfer constantly sliced in and around Fallston’s defense Tuesday, providing easy inside scoring opportunities for Head and Kourtney Lewis-Orr.

“I had to keep my composure,” said Malloy, who finished with 11 points and 12 assists. “When I see somebody open, I have to trust my instincts and give them the ball.”

Malloy was a scorer in the early stages Tuesday as her, Jones and Head each scored seven as Joppatowne led 21-9. The Cougars climbed to within 32-24 at half with leading scorer Holehouse breaking out with eight points.

The Mariners put the game out reach with a 15-0 run started by a Jones’ basket followed by another Jones’ score, courtesy of a Malloy’s drive and dish. Malloy capped the run with another drive and hand off to Head, making it 55-29.

“It was all defense,” said Malloy. “We needed to keep talking and shut Holehouse down.”

“We’re evolving as a team because of TroiQuay’s leadership,” said Harris. “She’s the ultimate quarterback. When she distributes, we’re a tough team to handle.”

Fallston coach Mike McTeague was down three players Tuesday including starting forward Marissa Curran. McTeague admitted even at full strength, the Cougars would’ve been hard-pressed against arguably the top public squad in the area.

“They have tremendous guard play and Shakara Head is great inside,” said McTeague. “They can get the ball inside and or kick it out to their shooters. That’s what separates them.”

The Cougars travels to Aberdeen Thursday while Joppatowne is at C. Milton Wright. The Mariners have won 30 consecutive decisions dating back to last season.

“We’re not shooting free throws as well as I would like, and we’re missing way too many layups,” said Harris. “But we’re starting to understand game situations. Everyone is really understanding their roles.”

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