Mary Grace Murchison and Abby Elkins combined for 46 points while Chatham Central eased out to a six-point halftime advantage and never trailed after intermission en route to defeating arch-rival Jordan-Matthews for the seventh straight time by capturing a 66-55 non-conference victory before a full house in the season-opener for both squads Monday evening in Frank N. Justice Gymnasium.
Murchison collected a game-high 26 points, Elkins chipped in 20 and Taylor Hughes added 11 for the Lady Bears, who connected on 47% (22-of-47) of their field goal attempts and held a 30-25 edge on the boards while committing 17 turnovers.
Jocelyn Mitchell tossed in 21 points to lead the Lady Jets, while Avery Headen and Ellia Wright registered seven three-pointers between them to finish with 16 and 13 points, re-spectively. J-M shot 41% (21-of-51) from the floor while turning the ball over 18 times.
Neither team held more than a three-point advantage in the opening period, which featured two lead changes and three ties prior to Jasmine Scotton’s free throw with 15.9 seconds left in the frame that put Jordan-Matthews up 10-9 after one.
Back-to-back treys by Headen and Wright to begin the second stanza elevated the Lady Jets’ advantage to seven with 6:29 remaining in the period before a pair of Hughes jumpers sparked a 9-2 Chatham Central run that pulled the Lady Bears even at 18-all with 1:40 to go until the break.
Following Headen’s pull-up jumper from the right wing 25 seconds later that gave J-M its final lead, Murchison tallied six points during an 8-0 quarter-ending burst that thrust the winners ahead 26-20 at the half.
After Murchison’s fast break layup extended Chatham Central’s advantage to 34-23 with 4:09 left in the third stanza, a Headen three-pointer from the right corner with 2:54 to go in the period trimmed the gap to 36-32.
However, an Elkins turnaround jumper in the lane a minute later triggered an 11-2 Lady Bears’ spurt as they proceeded to fashion their biggest lead of the night at 47-34 with 6:57 left in the contest.
With Mitchell and Wright combining for 11 points, the Lady Jets rallied once again to narrow the difference to 50-47 with 3:37 to play, but Elkins and Murchison would then team together for 13 points in the time remaining to help seal the win.
CC 9 17 16 24 – 66
J-M 10 10 14 21 – 55 Chatham Central (1-0) – Collins 1 0-0 2 CHughes 1 2-4 4 AElkins 8 4-4 20 THughes 4 3-4 11 Murchison 8 7-11 26 Phillips 0 0-0 0 Oldham 0 3-4 3 Hudson 0 0-0 0 Fields 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 19-27 66.
Jordan-Matthews (0-1) – Artis 0 0-0 0 Glover 1 0-0 2 Mitchell 8 5-8 21 Headen 6 0-0 16 Wright 5 0-1 13 Siler 0 0-0 0 Wiley 0 0-2 0 Ray 0 0-0 0 Scotton 1 1-2 3 Brooks 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-13 55. Halftime-Chatham Central, 26-20. Three-point goals-Chatham Central 3-9 (Murchison 3-7, THughes 0-1, Collins 0-1); Jordan-Matthews 7-16 (Headen 4-6, Wright 3-8, Mitchell 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Chatham Central 30 (AElkins 9); Jordan-Matthews 25 (Mitchell 13). Turnovers-Chatham Central 17 Jordan-Matthews 18. Total fouls-Chatham Central 11; Jordan-Matthews 18.