by Derek Toney

After winning three games in its first season of IAAM basketball play, Gerstell Academy knew the road to a championship would be long and arduous. There were landmark victories and gut wrenching defeats.  Sunday evening, Gerstell Academy reached the proverbial mountain top. The Falcons defeated John Carroll, 41-39, to win the IAAM B title at Stevenson University.

“The past few years we persevered through all the adversity, all the losses and we just used them as growing moments,” said Gerstell senior guard Annie Jackson, “and having the growth mindset to get where we are right now.”

Jackson had a team-best 14 points for Gerstell (17-6 overall), adding that long awaited title to her resume that includes being the program’s all-time leading scorer.

But the Falcons’ landmark victory Sunday will be remembered for Eniyah Stinette. The 5-foot-10 senior post produced the game’s biggest plays late in regulation, scoring the eventual winning basket with 19 seconds remaining. She grabbed John Carroll’s inbound pass at the basket with two seconds left, securing the Carroll County school’s first IAAM basketball title.

“She’s got the best hands for a post player in the state of Maryland,” said Gerstell coach Steve Stem. “The tough she catches, the stuff she pulls down. She’s averaged a double-double for us for three years.”

Stinette, who finished with seven points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals Sunday, with said Gerstell was ready to breakthrough after semifinal losses the previous two seasons.

 “We took it as an opportunity to get better and better and use it to our advantage,” said Stinette, who came to Gerstell as a sophomore in the 2021-22 season. “We’ve been working for this moment.”

The Finksburg school debuted as the newest IAAM member in the 2018-19 campaign, finishing 3-22 (1-10 in B Conference play) with a 14-game losing streak. The Falcons went 10-11 (5-6 in B) the next season before the 2020-21 season never materialized because of COVID-19. 

Gerstell lost to Concordia Prep in B2 semifinals in 2021-22 (14-5 overall) and St. Timothy’s in last season’s B semifinals.

The Falcons believed the stage was set this season with St. Timothy’s up in the A league, as well as Mercy, which moved to the A the season before after winning the B1 championship in 2021-22.  

“We knew the goal was to be at Stevenson this year,” said Stem.

The Falcons overcame a tenacious John Carroll squad to make history Sunday evening. Gerstell led 36-25 with 5:59 left in regulation, but the Patriots went on a 11-2 run to trail 38-36 with 2:16 to play.

After sophomore Miley Alguire came up with a defensive rebound for the Falcons off a John Carroll game-tying attempt, Stinette was fouled at the basket and converted one of two free throws for a 39-36 advantage with 41.9 seconds left. The Patriots got a 3-pointer from junior Vivian Carrico to pull even at 39 with 34 seconds remaining.

Stinette hit a tough shot in traffic, giving Gerstell the lead with 19 seconds to play. Carrico missed on a 3-pointer and, after a scramble, John Carroll maintained possession with 3.5 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Gerstell, which had several fouls to give before putting John Carroll in the one-and-one free throw bonus, fouled twice on the inbounds, leaving 2.4 seconds on the clock. The Falcons called another timeout.

The Patriots, inbounding the ball from the side, threw a pass towards the basket. The ball went off the hands of a John Carroll player and to Stinette, ending the Patriots’ valiant comeback.

Carrico sparked John Carroll (14-8) in the final stanza with three 3-pointers to finish with a team-high nine points along with junior guard Grace Marchetti. The Patriots, who knocked off second-seeded Mount de Sales in Thursday’s semifinals, never led Sunday.

John Carroll coach Jim Stromberg was nonetheless proud after watching his team stay in contention despite being down 11 points four times Sunday. 

“We played great, they’re (Gerstell) are really good,” said Stromberg, who succeeded Holly Ismail shortly before the start of preseason practice and won his 400th game in his long coaching journey. “We settled in. I think those early timeouts helped us…they’re a tough bunch.”

Stem, who took over Gerstell seven seasons ago, said it took a couple of years, “to lay the foundation of our expectations, foundation and culture.” Jackson and Mimi Delone came to Gerstell as freshmen in the fall of 2020, followed by Stinette and freshman Kiara Hardy (now a junior starter) the next year.

Gerstell, which went undefeated in B play (13-0) this season, defeated A teams Mount Carmel and St. Timothy’s, as well as played tough Maryland private schools in Riverdale Baptist and Shabach Christian Academy and three New York squads.

“It’s been a labor of love,” said Stem. “A lot of miles, a lot of tears, a lot of work.”

“We really worked for it, this wasn’t given to us,” said Jackson. “Working through this helped us all grow as people and players.”