In its quest for a record-tying fifth consecutive Maryland Class 4A state title, the Eleanor Roosevelt High School girls' basketball team had traveled a fairly smooth path. Saturday afternoon at the UMBC Retriever Athletic Center in Catonsville, the Raiders completed a methodical run to the championship with a 67-39 victory over James H. Blake High.

Roosevelt (24-1) had played perhaps its worst quarter of the season two days earlier in state semifinals when the Raiders spotted the Arundel Wildcats a 13-2 lead while failing to connect on a single field goal. But Roosevelt nearly returned the favor in the third quarter when the Raiders outscored Arundel 17-4 en route to a 47-43 victory. The difference between Thursday's semifinal and Saturday's title game was evident right from the outset.

"We knew that a fast start was the key," said Roosevelt guard Lacie Hall. "We came out with a lot more intensity than we did the other night [against Arundel]. We knew that this was our game. We didn't want to go down as the team that couldn't get it done. This was just a stepping stone for us. I think all of these seniors are going to do bigger and better things in college. Wow, it's just hard to believe that it's over."

Roosevelt joins Brooklyn Park (1985-89) as the only girls' programs to win five straight state titles. The Raiders still trail DuVal and Mount Hebron for most overall titles with seven. Brooklyn Park is third with six and Roosevelt and Anne Arundel County's Southern are tied with fourth with five titles each. Five years ago, the Raiders were an unknown on the state-wide stage. And now, for the fifth consecutive year, they are the one team everyone knows about.

"This team came through the front door," said Roosevelt coach Rod Hairston. "Every night these girls had a target on their backs. They had to face a lot of pressure. They did not want to be remembered as the team that ended the streak. The seniors put in a lot of work, in practices, in games. There was never a thought in my mind that we would win five straight titles. That thought never crossed my mind. We just went out and played every night."

Roosevelt owned an insurmountable 52-27 advantage heading into the fourth quarter and promptly ended all doubt when senior reserve Jasmine Nolan opened the final period with a conventional 3-point play and Lacie Hall added another free throw to put the Raiders ahead 56-27. Blake guard Danielle Douglas stopped the run with a 3-pointer and Justine Allen added another one for the Bengals less than a minute later before Douglas converted a layup.

But Blake's 8-0 run hardly impacted the outcome. Terah Mustaf nailed a 3-pointer and a layup, and Olivia Applewhite and Nikia Gibbs added layups and with two minutes remaining the Raiders had extended the lead to 30 points at 65-35. With just over a minute remaining, Applewhite added a layup on an assist from Lacie Hall, and shortly thereafter, Roosevelt coach Rod Hairston pulled his starters, who left the court to a standing ovation.

"It was really unbelievable just sitting there watching the last minute," Applewhite said. "It was all over and we had won again and that was it."

Sporting a 13-point lead at the intermission Saturday, Roosevelt went for the jugular right from the start of the third quarter. The Raiders' pressure defense forced the Bengals into turnovers on each of their first two possessions, and Roosevelt responded with baskets inside from Gibbs and Applewhite. Following what was arguably the worst performance of her career in the state semifinal win over Arundel, when she shot 1 of 15 from the floor, Applewhite scored eight of the Raiders' first 10 points of the third period and vaulted the reigning champs to an insurmountable 52-27 lead. The senior center finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Blake (23-4) failed to score a field goal over the last four minutes of the second quarter and the drought continued until Gabi Hall converted a layup with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. But that was quickly answered by buckets from Applewhite, Ahjah Hall, Noel Bullock and Alexis Malloy.

After a sloppy first quarter, Blake promptly opened the second quarter with a turnover on each of its first two possessions before scoring the first bucket on a long jumper by Faye Dunston. Roosevelt countered a minute later on a short jumper by Gibbs, but turnovers and poor shooting were the central themes of the remainder of the physical second quarter. The Bengals got to within four at 17-13, but the Raiders closed out the half on a 14-5 run as Applewhite, Mustaf and Malloy each added buckets.

"We just wanted to get off to a fast start, which is our focus every night," Applewhite said. "I thought we did a much better job of doing that tonight. We just played with a lot more intensity from the beginning and we didn't let up."