OAKLAND — Top-seeded Southern begins its Class 1A state playoff run at home against No. 8 Snow Hill in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The Rams (22-2) and Eagles (17-8) will tip off at 2 p.m.
The doors will open at 12:45 p.m. Tickets must be purchased online and cost $6. They can be found at the following link: https://gofan.co/app/school/MPSSAA.
How they got here
Southern routed Allegany (21-4), 67-28, Wednesday for its second consecutive region championship. The Rams opened the game on a 26-2 run.
They earned a first-round bye and defeated Mountain Ridge, 53-42, in the semifinals.
Snow Hill outlasted Cambridge-South Dorchester, 36-34, in the East Region II finals — its second region title in three years.
The Eagles defeated Pocomoke, 74-41, in the semifinals and Washington, 67-17, in the first round.
East vs. West
West Region I, where the Western Maryland Athletic Conference teams reside, has eliminated the East Region II champion in each of the past two seasons.
Southern romped Cambridge-South Dorchester, 66-33, in the state quarterfinals last year en route to a state runner-up finish.
The prior year, Mountain Ridge traveled across the state at the same stage to rout Snow Hill, 75-33, on its way to a second-place finish of its own.
After that game in 2023, Snow Hill head coach Courtney Kief remarked:
“We don’t see a lot of (man-to-man defense) on the shore, no matter who you play. And any time a team crosses the bridge, you see things that you just don’t see here.”
What they’re saying
Southern head coach Landon Todd: “I don’t know what’s going to come in the quarterfinals. We’ll see. Sharpen up things offensively, and we’ve got to make sure we’re crisp defensively.”
Players to watch
Southern’s Carly Wilt averages a team-best 12.9 points per game, has made a Rams-high 41 3-pointers and is 40 for 51 (78.4%) at the free-throw line.
Jayden Weaver also averages double figures at 11.5 ppg and has made 27 triples. Emelee Parks adds 8.8 points a night, and Joycelyn Ward is fourth on the team at 7.5 ppg.
Snow Hill is led by Marrah and Marlynn Milbourne, the latter a 5-foot-11 center. No statistical information for the Eagles is available online.
What’s at stake
Southern is trying to return to the state championship game in College Park where it fell to Pikesville last season to finish 23-4. The Rams are 45-6 in two seasons under Todd.
The Rams have been to the Final Four 15 times and finished as champions in 2004, ‘07, ‘14 and ‘18.
The winner of Saturday’s contest advances to the semifinals, which will be played at a neutral site on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
No. 4 Smithsburg (19-4) and No. 5 Perryville (19-3) played Friday on the other half of Southern’s bracket.