Manchester Valley Wins Its First Maryland Girls Basketball State Title; Poly Powers to Another at UMBC

CATONSVILLE, MARYLAND - After nearly two decades, the Maryland state public girls basketball championships returned to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) Thursday. It was special for Manchester Valley and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, who captured titles inside Chesapeake Employees Insurance Arena.

Baltimore Polytechnic, ranked No. 17 in this week’s High School on SI Maryland Top 25 won the Class 3A title with a 54-37 decision over Reservoir. Junior guard London Elliott had a game-high 24 points for the Engineers.

Manchester Valley claimed its first crown with a 46-39 victory over Glenelg in the 2A title game. Brynn Bauer had 15 points and six rebounds for the Mavericks.

Here are some takeaways from the opening day of the Maryland state public championships.

Manchester Valley Finally Gets Its “One Shining Moment”

Winning a championship often comes down to three words: Finding a way. Manchester Valley mastered it as the Carroll County (Md.) school shook the “good, but not good enough” mantra Thursday.

“I have the grittiest team in all of my years coaching basketball right here,” said Mavericks coach Heather Dewees. “No matter what was thrown our way, we knew we could handle it because we had each other.”

The Mavericks (20-5) trailed 9-0 inside the opening four minutes. By the start of the fourth quarter, game-leading scorer Bauer was done after injuring her knee in the third quarter.

Manchester Valley used its depth to push past Glenelg. The Mustangs’ bench outscored the Gladiator reserves, 12-1, as Lauren Kuehne (eight points, two rebounds) hit a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in regulation.

It was Kuehne’s first 3-pointer in 10 attempts this season. Bella Miller contributed three assists and four steals.

Those efforts defined this season’s Mavericks, who have been perennially the best in the Carroll County Athletic League (CCAL), only to come up short in regionals. Manchester Valley rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to win at Forest Park in last week’s state quarterfinals.

“Coach Heather and other coaches told us from day one we had the potential,” said Lilah Kresslein. “We showed up to practice everyday and worked hard…The Forest Park game told us we could go all the way. We were down 12 in the third quarter but we stayed composed and came back, and that showed our grittiness.”

Taylor Fique Knows Championships

If Taylor Fique had a walk-up song, it would be D.J. Khalid’s hip-hop classic “All I Do Is Win.”

The Manchester Valley junior forward had nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks, helping the Mavericks to their first state basketball championship and adding to an impressive resume.

Last spring, Fique was part of an undefeated Manchester Valley lacrosse squad that claimed the Maryland Class 2A state and finished No. 5 in the High School on SI DMV Top 25. As a sophomore, Fique helped Manchester Valley to a perfect season and the 2A state crown in field hockey (Mavericks lost to Glenelg in last fall’s 2A state final).

Fique, one of the nation’s top lacrosse prospect in the Class of 2027, had nine points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s semifinal win.

“Our biggest attribute is that we never give up,” said Fique, who’s committed to the University of Florida for lacrosse “We’re not the biggest team, but one thing we’re going to do is work hard.”

Low Expectations End with Near Title for Glenelg

Ten years after its last state championship, Glenelg completed a surprising run Thursday. The Howard County (Md.) school was 12-13 last season and hadn’t advanced out of the region play since its 2016 Class 2A championship campaign.

First-year coach Maureen Roberson was confident.

“Like the girls said, at the beginning of the season, nobody talked about us,” said Roberson, who was the junior varsity coach the previous four seasons. “From our losing records from the past probably seven years. Once I decided to take over the program, I said, ‘We’re going to the state championship, and this is our goal.’ We made it here.”

Stephanie Bunker finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Gladiators, and MJ Dabiri added 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Glenelg (19-7) scored the game’s first nine points and led 22-20 at halftime. The Gladiators shot just seven-of-28 in the second half and struggled against Manchester Valley’s pressure defense.

Glenelg loses Dabiri, a North Carolina-Pembroke recruit, Delle Russo (East Carolina lacrosse) and Ava Karbacka from Thursday’s starting five. Bunker, who transferred from Indian Creek School, will headline seven scheduled returning letterwinners.

Elliott, Poly Find Championship Switch

In the third quarter of Thursday’s Class 3A final, London Elliott perfectly timed a Reservoir inbound pass for a steal. She missed a relatively easy layup, leaving the junior guard slapping her hands in frustration.

The next time the ball got into her hands, Elliott produced arguably the biggest shot of Poly’s season. Her 3-pointer as time expired in the third gave the Engineers the lead and they dominated the rest of the way to claim their third 3A crown in five seasons.

London Elliott - Poly girls basektball — London Elliott of Poly was named the Class 3A Most Valuable Player. | Derek Toney

After a Reservoir turnover on an inbounds with 1.9 seconds left, Samiaya Williams inbounded to ball to Elliott, who dropped a trifecta - from the college 3-point line - in front of Poly’s bench.

It was the only 3-pointer by Elliott, who shot just seven-of-25 Thursday.

“This game and the last have been tough staying consistent with making layups,” said Elliott. “I was emotionally lost a little bit.”

Poly (23-2) shot 19-of-65 Thursday, but again leaned on its defense. The Engineers forced 31 turnovers resulting in 27 points. Elliott had a great-best eight steals, and senior center Kachella McGuire pulled down 13 rebounds.

For Peace-Able, a 1-0 final would’ve been a perfect game in her eyes.

Poly won its third state championship in the last five years with a big win over Reservoir in the 2026 3A state title game. | Derek Toney

“You can play all the games you want with offense…I really enjoy defense,” said Peace-Able, who played point guard for Poly 30 years ago. “Defense is where you set the tone, get a couple of steals and change the complexion of the game. I try to get them to contain a little bit, maintain what we have, don’t let it too far out…we can add the pressure where we need to add the pressure.”

Reservoir’s Bid at First Championship Fades

For three quarters, Reservoir had perennial 3A power Poly in its grasp. The Gator fans, who filled most of their side of lower section inside CEI Arena, were sensing a storybook ending.

Basketball is a 32-minute deal, and the final 10 minutes were unpleasant for the Howard County (Md.) school. Leading by seven points early in the third, Reservoir (21-5) was outscored, 35-11, the rest of the way.

“We typically dominate the boards and I don’t know that happened tonight,” said Gators coach Deb Taylor. “We came in with a solid game play…when they turned up the pressure with a quarter plus to go that was a difficult for us to handle.”

Despite losing veteran guard Saniya Strothers to a knee injury early in the season, Reservoir won its first Howard County league title. The Gators finished with a school-record 21 wins.

“I’m really grateful that we got the opportunity to make it this far,” said Reservoir senior forward Chloe-Theresa Nguena, who had 12 points and 13 rebounds. “Not a lot of people can say that they played in the state championship. It was really difficult trying to figure out how to operate without Saniya. Once we figured out how resilient we could be and how we don’t stop trying, it was pretty easy from there.”

Thursday’s Championship Best

Here’s the Class 3A and 2A all-tournament teams as selected by Derek Toney

CLASS 3A

Most Outstanding Player - London Elliott, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

Elliott, whose season abruptly ended after the Class 3A state quarterfinals last season, helped Poly claim a third 3A title in five seasons. The 5-7 junior guard had a game-high 24 points and eight steals in the title game. Elliott, whose 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer gave Poly the lead for good, had 11 points in the Engineers’ semifinal victory over South River Tuesday.

All-tournament team

Jael Erickson, Edgewood, 5-8, senior, guard

Maci Lilly, South River, 5-11, sophomore, forward

Kachelle McGuire, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, 6-3, senior, center

Chloe-Theresa Nguena, Reservoir, 5-7, senior, forward

Alexis Smothers, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute,. 5-8, senior, guard

CLASS 2A

Most Outstanding Player - Lilah Kresslein, Manchester Valley

In a season defined by adversity, Kresslein was the calming influence for Manchester Valley’s historic run. The 5-foot-4 junior point guard played 31 minutes in the title game, finishing with eight points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals as the Mavericks overcame a slow start and the lost of leading scorer Brynn Bauer in the second half. Kresslein had a game-best 19 points in the Mavericks’ semifinal win over Wicomico.

All-tournament team

Brynn Bauer, Manchester Valley, 5-6, sophomore, guard

Ka’maya Boyce-Williams, Williamsport, 5-8, senior, guard

MJ Dabiri, Glenelg, 5-11, senior, forward

Se’Lah Foreman, Wicomico, 5-5, senior, guard

Taylor Fique, Manchester Valley, 5-6, junior, guard