The Patterson Mill boys and girls basketball teams proved Tuesday at the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference championship games that they are Harford County’s best shots at winning a state title, which would be the county’s first since 2022. Both enjoyed dominant regular seasons, the boys’ led by a strong group of returners with an experienced coach, and the girls’ brought together a first-year coach with contributions from impactful freshmen.
Edgewood, the team the Huskies girls toppled Tuesday, appeared to be the county’s best girls team and proved such throughout the regular season and the first quarter of Tuesday’s title game. But a thrilling comeback victory — without senior guard Sam Donovan — gave the Rams a rare loss as they now shift focus to the state playoffs that they hope their star can return for.
They’re not the only Harford County teams looking to go on state title runs. The Fallston boys and girls and C. Milton Wright boys will challenge the Class 2A bracket, and some lower-seeded local teams could have the best players on the court in their early round matchups.
Here are the biggest questions and storylines facing Harford County boys and girls basketball teams ahead of the state tournament this week:
Can Patterson Mill boys capture first state title?
The Huskies’ loss Tuesday is as close to a moral victory as coach Jeroud Clark will allow. They fell to Elkton, the only team to beat them in the regular season, by three after losing by 21 in January. And they were without senior point guard Kai Gibson, who Clark said he expects back for the state playoffs.
“Next man up,” the coach said. “Everyone’s ready.”
The start of any potential tournament run can be traced back to December for these Huskies. A players-only, captain-led team meeting brought some underlying issues to the forefront, and they’ve been blowing opponents out since.
Patterson Mill has been led by a senior trio of Colin Luddy, James Hammond and Gibson, who give the Huskies scoring threats at all levels. Without Gibson on Tuesday, fellow senior Alex Kropp stepped up with 15 points — Hammond led with 25.
Getting the program’s first state title is on all those players’ minds. Patterson Mill reached the Class 1A state quarterfinals last season and proved it has the depth to sustain Gibson’s injury.
“I’d say peaking at the right time, for sure,” Clark said. “To battle a team like that, you got to be playing good ball.”
Are the Huskies girls even better?
Tuesday’s improbable comeback victory over Edgewood brings Patterson Mill’s ceiling into focus. And the Huskies surely feel capable of beating anyone after that.
They’re looking to get further than last year’s team that won a region title then lost in the state quarterfinals. Patterson Mill brought back star forward Rylie Madsen, who eclipsed 1,000 career points earlier this month, and Sophia Trinh, whom Jeff Burrows calls the best defender in the county at point guard, from that team.
Burrows is in his first season with Patterson Mill but has coached many of these players at the youth level years ago. He combined Madsen and Trinh with freshmen sisters Andrianna and Anthi Nezis to create a formidable group. Andrianna was the team’s leading scorer before suffering a season-ending injury earlier this month.
Still, Burrows isn’t naive about his path to a deep playoff run. Redistricting placed five-time Class 1A reigning state champion Pikesville in Patterson Mill’s region. Repeating as region champs means getting through what’s been the state’s best team for half a decade.
Burrows is ready.
“They just showed up this year in our region, so we got to deal with that,” he said. “So, the regional finals will go through our school, but us not being very deep, them throwing 10 to 12 players, full court, it’s going to be a huge challenge.”
Edgewood girls, Fallston boys and girls, C. Milton Wright boys not far behind
Edgewood has been the team to beat in Harford County over the past two seasons, going 36-8 since the start of 2024-25. Last year, the Rams reached a 3A region final but fell there to Poly, which moved to a different region in this year’s bracket. The move likely makes the Rams the favorite to advance out of 3A North Region I.
They have the team to do it. Donovan, who cheered from the bench with a boot on her left foot, will need to return, but fellow senior guard Jael Erickson, both of whom became 1,000 career point scorers this season, is capable.
The Fallston boys have been Patterson Mill’s toughest test in the county this season. The Huskies took all three meetings this year, but the Cougars only lost by four in the UCBAC semifinal game on Friday, one of Patterson Mill’s closest results against any local opponent. Senior forward Aiden Robinson gives them the size needed to compete with the rest of the region.
C. Milton Wright also played the Huskies tough, falling by eight on the road in January in one of just three losses the Mustangs suffered in county this season. Second-year coach Gary Neal’s team is anchored by senior forward Shawn Lauderdale, who can match any opposing team’s top scorer.
Johnny Woods’ Fallston girls basketball team is a perennial postseason contender and back again this year. The Cougars have perhaps the county’s best player in senior forward Brooke Bolesta, who’s averaging a double-double on the season and led Fallston to a 14-8 campaign. That included an eight-game winning streak before dropping three of their last four entering the playoffs, two of them to Patterson Mill and Edgewood.
Lower-seeded teams with stars hoping to make noise
C. Milton Wright girls’ Keirsten Rurka was convinced she’d have to miss the rest of the season after being told she’d damaged knee ligaments in December. But after a second examination revealed a far less severe injury, Rurka returned to the court in February and has continued posting impressive stat lines.
The Mustangs struggled in Rurka’s absence and are 8-12 on the season. But with her back, they’ll have one of the Class 2A bracket’s top talents.
“It’s been a growth experience mentally and physically,” said Rurka, who transferred from Mount Carmel just before this season began. “I’ve had to take on a stronger load basketball-wise that I’m used to, and also I think mentally just being able to adjust to a new setting so last minute I think has really challenged.”
Havre de Grace boys’ Josiah Lawrence has his own case for Harford County’s top player. He’s posted three games with 40 or more points this season and is averaging more than 10 rebounds per contest.
But the Warriors are just 7-13 despite Lawrence’s heroics. The senior desperately wants to guide his team to a region title in Class 1A as a departing gift. If they do that, only then will he allow himself to aim higher.
“Everybody wants to put up points. But I like winning,” Lawrence said. “I’ve always wanted to take this team further.”
Have a news tip? Contact Taylor Lyons at tlyons@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/TaylorJLyons.
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