The Lady Patriots basketball team made a conscious decision not to let another year leave them without a championship ring.
This year the team was not beaten on the basketball court once during the 2010 regular season. There was a single forfeit during the last game that left the team with a 9-1 record. The ladies went on to dominate at the Washington Area Military Athletic Conference with three straight wins, and will compete in the next level National Military Athletic Association competition in Lackland Air Force Base, Texas from Friday to Sunday.
The team tried during the last couple years to produce a season like this, but something was always missing, said two-year veteran combination guard Katrina Green.
"We had strong teams each of the last two years," Green said. "But this year we had the returning corps. We also had players come back from the year before. It made for a team that couldn't be reckoned with."
The team recognized its threats to opposition even in the pre-season, Green, who averages a 45 percent success rate from the three-point range, said. The coach told us since we started practicing in October that we would win the championship.
"The early concern was getting the ladies to band together and rely on one another," said Reginald Darden, head coach for the Lady Patriots. "I told them they had to come together as a team and put in the work or show up and continue to get beat."
The ladies were not doing well in tournaments, he said. At the Veteran's Day tournament at Fort Lee, Va. the team was knocked out early. The last game was a 40-point loss to the Fort Bragg, N.C. team.
The ladies agreed that they had the ammunition to win, but they needed to come together, said Jenille Clay, shooting guard.
With six years' experience under her belt, coming to Fort Meade from a championship Fort Lee, Va. team, "losing was a hard pill to swallow," Clay said. "But by mid-season the team learned how to shine together."
The ladies began to turn things around, Darden said. They worked hard in practice and changed their mental approach to the game.
"There were some wins before we really came together. But we weren't meshing until we mentally became one team," Clay said. "We had to realize that it takes more than one player to win the game."
The Lady Patriots began seeing themselves like a family, said Tiffany Perry, small forward with more than seven years experience. The head coach drove from Alexandria, Va. to get to practices. If he was willing to make the sacrifice, the team felt the need to commit to 110 percent on the court during the training.
"The gym was bringing us together," Perry said.
One day after a December practice, the ladies introduced the head coach to a prospective point guard that was small in stature, Darden said. But came to surpass his expectation.
"Ashley Bowman took our team from good to dominant with pure speed and basketball savvy," Darden said.
Bowman was named the WAMAC Tournament MVP, averaging 20 points, eight assists and three steals during the tournament.
The team became an inside/outside combination of strength and speed with Rosita Melbourne, averaging 12 rebounds and 10 points a game, and Stephanie Anderson and Shea Cunningham, who averaged 10 and eight rebounds respectively, he said.
The up-tempo play at the guard position was headed by the best shooting backcourt in the league with Clay and Green both with double-digit game point averages.
When the intramural season started on post, the only way for the team to get practice was to play along with the other teams, said Marquita Washington, two-year veteran shooting guard.
"All of those practice drills and suicides paid off," Green said. "We hope to bring the same drive and determination next year," Green said.
As the community congratulates the ladies for a record year, the Lady Patriots may be found still in their signature championship sweatshirts throughout the summer.
"It took me seven years to win a WAMAC championship. It could be 70 degrees outside and I will be wearing the proof," Perry said.
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