Harford Women’s Basketball Holds Early Lead, but Collapses in Second Half, Falls to Burlington, 75-59

From the HCC sports desk:

BEL AIR, Md.—The Harford women’s basketball team took a one-point, 31-30, deficit into halftime, but scored just nine points in the first 12 minutes of the second period as Burlington coasted to the 75-59 win on Monday night at Susquehanna Center.

The Fighting Owls (3-9) have lost eight straight, with their last win dating back to the Nov. 16 blowout victory at Salem, while the Barons (12-3) have won their last seven.

Freshman Alanza Brown (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) led Harford with 19 points on the night, while also grabbing five rebounds and sophomore Kiara Reeves (Aberdeen, Md./C. Milton Wright) tallied a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, along with three assists, blocks and steals.

Aisha Varnadore and Nadirah Brown paced the Barons with 24 and 23 points, respectively, with Brown adding nine rebounds and Varnadore seven. Daphne Capellan was the only other Burlington player to score double-digits, with 10 points on the night.

Harford controlled the game for the first 10 minutes of the first period, leading by as many as nine, 18-9 at the 10:25 mark, but the Barons spread a 9-0 run over the next five minutes to knot the score at 18 with 5:22 left. The teams would trade baskets for most of the remaining time in the first half, with Burlington holding a slim, one-point, 31-30 lead at the buzzer.

The Barons would notch a 3-pointer right out of the gate to start the second, but the Owls would keep the deficit under four points until the 15:32 mark, when Burlington took a six-point lead, 40-34. They would build that advantage to double-digits by the 12:14 mark, 46-35, and Harford wouldn’t see a single-digit deficit for the remainder of the game on the way to the 75-59 decision.

The Fighting Owls return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Baltimore City for a doubleheader with the men’s team. The women tip off at 5:00 p.m., with the men following at 7:00 p.m.