Ram girls back on track

Rockville 40, Seneca Valley 33

‘‘That was a nice win for us,” Rockville coach Mark Crichton said. ‘‘After that big win we went up to Damascus and had them on the ropes for three quarters. At one point we were up 20-12 in the second. But, we just didn’t close it out. But we came and went back to the drawing board and they were ready for Seneca.”

For the first time in three years, the Rams are a senior-laden group. They’ve got experience on their side, and they’re playing like it. In the past Rockville stuck to the basics and didn’t make many adjustments during the game.

That’s no longer the case. And their ability to tweak their game to adhere to opponents’ strengths and weaknesses is what enabled them to win Friday’s game. The Screaming Eagles’ shots were falling early, so Rockville adjusted its defense in the second half. And it proved effective.

‘‘It’s nice now because we have these experiences to look back on,” Crichton said. ‘‘At halftime I was able to talk to the girls and say, ‘Hey, remember when we played box-and-one and did this against this girl? Let’s try that again.’ They have those experiences to fall back on and they resonate and remember what to do.”

Doyley’s performance certainly stood out Friday. But part of what’s enabled Rockville to close out some big games like Friday’s is its ability to rely on many contributors. Doyley took on a big scoring role Friday — senior Raven Gilmer and sophomore Zamica Gage each added seven points. But others, like Gilmer and Gage, had standout defensive performances, did the little things that matter.

‘‘It’s real important any time you get a win,” Crichton said. ‘‘But when you have to make adjustment, and it’s really a team victory and not just one person, that’s even better.”