Standouts From The Public vs. Private Challenge Part 1

On January 12th the McDonogh School was set to host the annual Public vs. Private Challenge featuring 52 teams in one day. This has become one of the DMV's favorite events throughout the eight years of its existence. Players, parents and fans of the game flock to one of the best facilities in the area to watch a massive all girls high school event, and link up with each other like a yearly reunion. The threat of an impending snow storm caused major changes to the schedule and only 13 of the 26 scheduled games were played. The remaining games will be played  on future date. The private schools won 8 of the 13 games to push their all time series lead to 38-32. Here are the results and some of the stellar performers from the day... Urbana 41, Gerstell Academy 37. <strong>Peyton Kirchner</strong> scored 19 to lead Urbana and freshman <strong>Che Penn</strong> scored 12 for Gerstell. Roland Park 80, Frederick 61. The Reds continued their torrid scoring ways against a tough Frederick team. Roland Park's dynamic duo of <strong>Mir</strong> <strong>Mclean</strong> and <strong>Ja'niah Henson</strong> scored 26 and 25 points respectively. They overshadowed a dominant 35 point performance by Frederick's<strong> Makayla Daniels.</strong>  Mercy 52, Eastern Tech 27. <strong>Chanell Henson</strong> scored 19 points and <strong>Taylor Gilmore</strong> added 12 for the Magic as the cruised against Eastern Tech. <strong>Sydney Edmond</strong> scored 17 for Tech. City College 58, St. Timothy's 34 <strong>Mya Henson</strong> scored 15 and <strong>Raquel Nicholson</strong> added 14 as the Knights easily handled St. Timothy's. South River 59, Maryvale 19. <strong>Julia Fitzwater</strong> had an impressive outing for South River with 5 three pointers and a total of 19 points as the Seahawks jumped out to a 13-3 lead and were never threatened. Fitzwater was clearly one of the best shooters in the gym on this day. Institute of Notre Dame 57, Long Reach 55 The best game of the day featured big time performances by big time players. IND's junior guard <strong>Eniya Russell </strong>scored 18 second half points to help her team pull out the win. 6'2" junior forward <strong>Ajae Petty</strong> rebounded Russell's miss with 4.2 seconds left and scored the game winning points. Russell finished with 24 for the game while Long Reach's <strong>Lyric Swann</strong> led all scorers with 28 including six three pointers. IND's Petty took control of the paint in the second half and showed why college coaches are pursuing her. Although she did not shoot a high percentage in the game, she used her length and athleticism to rebound and defend. Petty Glenelg Country 43, Franklin 38 Sophomore guard <strong>Ashlyn Bender</strong> scored 16 points for the Dragons as they held off Franklin in a back and forth battle. Bender is a flat our scorer who is still developing her offensive game.  Senior Dominique Doss led all scorers with 20 points before suffering a late knee injury.  Bender Stay tuned for part two. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;