HCPSS Athletics Weekly Update - Basketball Season Recaps and more...

SPOTLIGHT

2026 Season Recap: Howard County Girls Basketball

Howard County saw two teams make championship appearances and three win their region this season. Glenelg and Reservoir powered their way to have a chance at a title. Howard made it to the state bracket.

Here are CSZ’s awards for the best of the county this season:

Team of the Year - Reservoir Gators

Reservoir tied for the best regular-season record at 16-4 and won a county-high five playoff games.

The Gators hit the ground running in December, winning all six of their games and keeping opponents under 40 points in four of them. Their seven-game win streak to open the year showcased that this year’s team would not take a step back, leading the county once again.

A January lull, which had a 1-4 stretch for the Gators, proved to be the outlier in the year. Reservoir returned to its winning ways in February and carried that momentum for the rest of the season.

Since the start of February, they won 12 straight games, including the playoffs, before the championship against the Poly Engineers.

A 57-34 loss to that Poly team ended the playoff run, but Reservoir still managed to defy expectations by remaining at the top of the county. Coach Deb Taylor reflected on what she and her players accomplished this season.

“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think we would win as many games as we did…We graduated 2 all-county players and people thought we would be down. Instead, we won our first county championship and made school history,” Coach Taylor said.

Most Improved Team - Glenelg Gladiators

Glenelg boosted its record by six regular-season wins and eight total this year, turning the page after finishing under .500 in 2025.

The Gladiators built early momentum and sustained it this year. They won their first five games of the season with a key one early against a talented Mt. Hebron team. 

In CSZ’s preseason power rankings, we placed Glenelg seventh with concerns about the team’s defense. The 2025 team had a 3-9 record when the defense allowed more than 40 points. The Gladiators allowed 40 points in the same number of games this season, but showed the offensive grit to overcome it.

Glenelg improved by three wins in the stat to have a 6-6 record in those games, including the playoffs.

Their playoff journey featured four blowout wins, taking down Southern, Wilde Lake, Frederick Douglass and Williamsport. The dominance carried into the start of the championship game, but Glenelg got outlasted by Manchester Valley, who won its first championship in the process.

Girls’ Basketball 🏀

Glenelg and Reservoir made it all the way to the championships in historic seasons.

Reservoir outlasted Mt. Hebron to win the MPSSAA 3A South I regional championship.

The two teams played oppositely to their previous matchups during the season. Reservoir and Mt. Hebron faced off twice in a three day span to open February. The Gators won both, outscoring the Vikings 86-63.

The Gators started off hot with eight unanswered points to open the game. A timeout let Mt. Hebron readjust and outscore Reservoir 13-9 for the rest of the first quarter.

The Vikings kept their momentum for the start of the second quarter. Michelle Nzelibe tied the game at 18 with a free throw and Grace Garvin's three point shot gave Mt. Hebron its first lead of the day.

Mt. Hebron's close 26-24 halftime lead stood out against a nearly flawless Reservoir squad. A game between these two rivals had not ended in a one possession margin or a Mt. Hebron win since Dec. 14, 2023.

Leah Lauer got the Gators back on track with an early three point shot to reclaim the lead at 27-26. The Vikings responded immediately and both teams traded off points. They would enter the fourth quarter tied at 36, with their state dreams on the line.

Turnovers proved costly early in the final minutes for Reservoir. Two of them led to four Mt. Hebron points. In a reverse of the first quarter, Mt. Hebron opened the final one with seven unanswered points.

The Gators kept themselves in the game through key fouls against Mt. Hebron's Grace Garvin and Michelle Nzelibe. Reservoir scored on both of those possessions, making it a 45-42 game.

Chloe-Theresa Nguena sunk a game tying three point shot to force months of basketball to come down to the game's last 82 seconds.

Two more possessions kept each team with 47 points and under a minute to play. Sydney Shelton got the ball for Reservoir and became the hero, scoring the decisive two points to win the game.

The Gators claimed their third straight regional title and took on Howard in the state quarterfinals. Reservoir won more comfortably against the Lions, taking that game 44-38.

Boys’ Basketball 🏀

The basketball season ended earlier than expected after the first round of states.

Marriotts Ridge emerged as the last HoCo team standing for a game against Franklin High School.

The Mustangs joined Mt. Hebron as the only two county teams to win a regional game this season.

Marriotts Ridge took down New Town in a thrilling 42-41 finish to earn their place in the 3A state bracket. The Mustangs won two one-possession games on their journey, taking down Oakland Mills in a 40-38 win to start their playoff run.

Mt. Hebron took a different path to moving beyond the regional bracket. The Vikings used a late season surge to power their path to becoming one of the county’s best teams.

On January 14, the Vikings lost to Oakland Mills and fell to 6-6, getting a .500 record for the fourth time in the season. That loss changed everything for Mt. Hebron. The rest of the regular season saw a 5-3 record, a bounceback to the team’s 5-2 December.

They opened the regional bracket with a rematch against Guilford Park. The Panthers provided the toughest matchup of the season, but the Vikings picked up their only one-point win of the season, taking the game 59-58.

Mt. Hebron’s late-game heroics secured the first one-point win for the program since February 8, 2019, when they beat Howard 61-60.

The momentum carried into larger wins over Atholton and Sherwood, surpassing a higher seeded Raiders squad and taking down Sherwood, who defeated one seed Oakland Mills just one game before.

Mt. Hebron fell to Baltimore City College High School in a 88-47 loss to end the state appearance at one game. Baltimore City went on to lose to the eventual 3A champion South River.

The Vikings still have plenty to be proud of after improving from 2025 to make their first state appearance of the 2020s.

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