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Chris Krivos's 12-year run as the Urbana High girls basketball coach came to an end March 11 with a 52-42 loss to Arundel in the Class 4A state semifinals at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County's RAC Arena.

He could have used the post-game press conference as a moment of reflection, but instead opted to do what he's done for the past dozen seasons: Focus on his girls.

"I've been getting way too much attention," Krivos said. "It's more about the kids."

To many, Krivos is Urbana girls basketball. He was 196-75 during his tenure in Ijamsville and has claimed six region titles at the school. He'll take over as Oakdale High's first athletic director in the fall.

Arundel's two Division I recruits, Talen Watson and Sheronne Vails rose to the occasion against the Hawks. Watson, committed to Massachusetts, posted a game-high 15 points while also contributing five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Listed at 6-foot-4, Vails, who is headed to Louisville, added 14 points and 10 rebounds. She was a huge deterrent in the lane, limiting the Hawks' ability to drive to the rim with six blocked shots.

"We've got girls who can flat out get to the rim," Krivos said. "But when you get to the rim and [Vails is] putting it in the third row, it makes it a little more difficult. She impacted the game for us, there's no question."

Sloppy play plagued both sides early. Arundel (22-4) shot a meager 7 of 24 from the floor and committed 10 turnovers during the opening half. Urbana was even worse, connecting on just 5 of 28 field goals while handing the ball over 12 times.

"I think we tried to push the ball a lot, because we were supposed to run the floor and that's what we like to do," said Urbana junior point guard Mari Kordell. "Sometimes when you run, you end up turning the ball over and that combined with playing at the RAC gets to you a little bit."

The Hawks (20-5) went scoreless for nearly five minutes to open the contest and, while trailing 8-0, finally got on the board with a Peyton Carper 3-pointer. Veronica Krivos added another trey at the end of the first quarter, cutting Arundel's lead to 12-7.

Failing to capitalize on Veronica Krivos's tally, Urbana was called for traveling on two of its initial three trips down the floor in the second quarter. The Hawks fought back and pulled to 13-12 on a pair of Cara Mason free throws at 5:01. That was the high water mark for Urbana, as Arundel went on a 9-3 run to close out the first half at 22-15.

Urbana began to return to form a few minutes into the second half and played its best basketball in the fourth quarter, outscoring Arundel 18-14. The Wildcats however, found their stroke from behind the arc and hit on 4 of 5 3-pointers after intermission.

Wildcats' guard Ariel Rossi connected from long range to start the third quarter. Talen Watson drained another 3-pointer shortly after for a 30-15 Arundel lead.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Hawks' forward Kristen Juenger helped keep Urbana in contention with 10 second-half points. She also paced her team with 11 rebounds.

Becca Himes brought the Hawks to 47-36 after making the back end of two foul shots with 2:15 to go in the fourth. Following a timeout, Urbana began to press, but still came up short as Arundel put the game away at the free throw line. The Hawks' Grace Lillo hit one last 3-pointer seconds before the final buzzer.

Veronica Krivos and Cara Mason matched Juenger with 10 points to lead the Hawks. Kordell had four assists. Urbana shot 16 of 55 from the floor and committed 16 turnovers.

"They're very good," Chris Krivos said. "We just got beat by a very, very good basketball team."