MCHENRY — For Mountain Ridge to go where it needs to go, the Miners need a team effort on the offensive end — they got one on Saturday night.
Top-ranked Mountain Ridge went on a decisive 13-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to beat South Park (Pennsylvania), the final 10 points scored by five players not named Sydney Snyder, the reigning Area Player of the Year.
Behind three double-figure scorers, Mountain Ridge bounced back from its first defeat of the season with a 52-38 triumph on the final day of the Deep Creek Holiday Classic at Garrett College.
“This team had us scouted, and they came out trying to stop Syd,” Mountain Ridge head coach Todd Snyder said. “Syd started out hot, and it was good to see the other girls picked up some pace in the second quarter and we were able to spread the ball around.
“That’s important moving forward. If we want to get further down the line, getting the (other) girls to step up and try to make plays. We’re harder to defend when we get scorers Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 coming through there and scoring points.”
The Miners (6-1) suffered their first defeat of the season Friday to Trinity (Pennsylvania), 67-46. It was their first loss since the Class 1A state championship game against Pikesville.
Mountain Ridge was shellshocked by Trinity’s fullcourt pressure and length — Trinity starts a 6-foot-1 center and has three other girls 5-10 or taller — and never got into the game, falling behind 20-0 at the start.
However, the Miners played a much more confident game Saturday. After Sydney Snyder hit a 3-pointer to put the Miners ahead 11-10 early in the first quarter, they never trailed again, as a 16-2 flurry put them ahead 24-12.
South Park cut its deficit to 24-18 with a 6-0 flurry, but the Miners closed the half with four straight points to lead 28-18. A pair of Snyder 3-pointers in the third put them ahead 41-28 entering the fourth, where they were never threatened again.
Todd Snyder believes the Garrett County showcase event provided Mountain Ridge with a test that should prove valuable going forward.
“We wanted to respond. We wanted to come up here and get better,” he said. “We saw some stiff competition. Both the teams challenged us. … It was a good tournament for us, and some of the girls got their eyes opened up, which is good.”
Sydney Snyder finished with a game-high 17 points and three 3-pointers, and Reghan Sivic added 11 points and Kealana Pua’auli finished with 10 to join her in double figures.
Brooke Paylo led South Park with 11 points. Five different South Park girls hit 3-pointers, led by Andrea Kuczma with two.
Mountain Ridge returns to the court on Thursday at Fort Hill (0-7) at 7 p.m.
The Miners still have a ways to go before returning to their late-season form of 2022-23, which saw them advance to their first state championship game in school history, finish 20-7 and capture the area championship — Saturday was a promising showing.
“We have a tough stretch coming,” coach Snyder said. “I’m nowhere near happy with where we’re at yet. We have made a lot of improvement. I’ve seen some really good things. We’re asking girls to step in and play some spots they’ve never played before. We’re still trying to figure one another out. Some girls moving up to the JVs and freshman coming in.
“Each day we want to get better and make sure there at the end we’re one of those teams that has a chance to play deep into March.”