Coin flip sends Joppatowne to UCBAC girls final
After losing to Aberdeen two weeks ago, Joppatowne's girls basketball team had pretty much resigned itself to missing out on the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference championship game.
No. 2 Aberdeen's schedule included one more game than No. 3 Joppatowne's and a victory would give the Eagles the edge in the Chesapeake Division and a berth in the title game against Harford Tech, the Susquehanna Division champ. But Tuesday's snow forced the cancellation of Aberdeen's final game, against Riverdale Baptist, so the season ended in a tie -- through four tie breakers.
A coin flip would have to decide which team advanced to the championship game.
Tuesday morning, Joppatowne won the coin toss and will play Harford Tech Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Edgewood High School.
Because of the snowy weather, UCBAC commissioner Bob Slagle held the coin flip in his house with the blessing of Harford County supervisor of athletics Ken Zorbach, Joppatowne athletic director Michael Harris (also the girls basketball coach) and Aberdeen AD Tim Lindecamp.
Slagle said he asked Zorbach if he needed a witness and Zorbach said Slagle’s wife would be fine.
While several levels of the tie breaker have been needed to determine a division winner in the past, Slagle said there had never been a coin flip. This is the eighth season for the UCBAC, which includes teams from Harford and Cecil counties.
Aberdeen and Joppatowne, who split their regular-season meetings, were tied through the first four UCBAC tiebreakers:
Chesapeake Division record: 11-1
Head to head: 1-1
Record minus holiday tournaments: 18-1
Overall record: 20-1
Missing the game with Riverdale Baptist, The Washington Post’s No. 2 team, now leaves the Eagles without a game until next Tuesday’s regional quarterfinal.
Comments
Why couldn't they just play the tie breaker?
Flip the coin for home court and let the Jones girls(center Bri for the Eagles, guard Zamaria for the M's) go at it.
Posted by: ken | February 22, 2011 7:45 PM
At all levels of basketball head to head means point differential thats at all levels of basketball. Aberdeen has gotten the shaft they played the best schedule, won my more points, and still came up short then they wonder why kids leave public schools and go to private.
Posted by: Mo | February 23, 2011 9:05 AM
why not go to points for and against? Why would the athletic directors agree to this?
Posted by: Amber | February 23, 2011 2:52 PM
If Aberdeen is ranked higher than Joppatowne it doesn't make sense for Joppatowne to have won the champs. Actually they did not win over Aberdeen to be truthful They just won a coin toss (wow)That really says alot about Joppatowne. I also beleive that both teams should have played again to see who would be able to go. Another concern is why didn't the Aberdeen's coach fight for her girls? If they went by the point system. All hands down Aberdeen would have been played in that game. So they kept saying they were tied. Truthfully they were not. If I was part of the Joppatowne team or even the coach I would have asked for another game against Aberdeen. Now they have it blasted on the papers saying Joppatowne got lucky by a coin toss and because Aberdeen did not play one of there games because of the snow (ummm) If u feel as though that's a winner then so be it. wish you the best Joppatowne. Just saying.
Posted by: play fair | February 24, 2011 9:09 AM
I cannot believe that a coin toss determined who would advance to a championship game, this is unjustice. I feel that another type of action needs to be handle before next season. What abt the seniors who have worked hard this year will not be able to reep the rewards of their hard work that they put into this year.
Posted by: confused | February 24, 2011 10:04 AM