BEAR CREEK — As the saying goes, it was close, but no cigar for Chatham Central.
With neither team enjoying more than a four-point advantage through the first 28 minutes of play, undefeated Providence Grove used a 9-3 run over the final 3:18 to slip past the Lady Bears 59-50 in non-conference action last Thursday in Gerald L. Binkley Gymnasium.
Completing a sweep of the season series with their eighth win in the last nine meetings between the two teams, the Lady Patriots improved to 6-0 for the year, while Chatham Central stumbled to 2-2 overall.
Despite shooting just 32 percent (21-of-66) from the floor, Providence Grove placed three players in double figures, led by Malea Garrison’s 18 points. Kaitlyn Sexton and Makayla McClain contributed 11 points apiece for the winners, who held a 20-14 advantage on the boards while turning the ball over 14 times.
Danielle Vaughn sank four three-pointers and finished with 18 points for the Lady Bears while Mary Grace Murchison chipped in 14. Chatham Central connected on 41 percent (20-of-49) of its field goal attempts but committed 21 turnovers.
“We couldn’t get our shots to fall in the first half, but our rebounding kept us in the game,” said Lady Patriots’ coach Erin Sikes. “We switched from a man defense to a zone in the second half to stop Chatham Central drives in the middle, while we started creating more open shots for ourselves and doing a better job pushing the ball up-court in transition. Our ‘go-to’ players (Garrison, Sexton and McClain) can make things happen on the floor, and we needed their leadership tonight. Free throws eventually allowed us to pull away in the final minutes, while Aria Coltrane was a key factor coming off the bench to score some big put-backs and give us more aggressiveness in the paint.”
Lady Bears’ coach Lynda Burke indicated she felt her team played much better this time around against Providence Grove compared to their previous game that was won 54-37 by the Lady Patriots back on November 25.
“We shot the ball well tonight and worked our offense to get good looks,” Burke said. “But on their 9-3 run at the end we missed three layups and didn’t rebound well. Providence Grove definitely out-hustled us for loose balls when the game was on the line, and that along with their ability to hit free throws down the stretch was the difference.”
Following a pair of early ties, Chatham Central opened up a 13-9 advantage with 1:52 left in the initial period before the Lady Patriots rallied to take a one-point lead on the strength of two Garrison free throws and Sexton’s trey from the left corner prior to Murchison’s three-pointer from the right wing with three seconds showing on the clock that put the Lady Bears ahead 16-14 after one quarter.
Chatham Central then rebuilt its margin to four at 20-16 on a pair of Savannah Stilwell foul shots with 7:01 remaining in the second stanza only to have Garrison’s bank shot off the right baseline two minutes later thrust Providence Grove back in front 21-20, but following two more lead changes the Lady Bears eventually carried a 28-27 advantage into intermission.
After battling to a 34-all standoff midway through the third period, Edi Austin’s rebound bucket in the lane coupled with two McClain charity tosses elevated the Lady Patriots into a four-point lead with 2:21 left in the stanza before Chatham Central managed to narrow the gap to 40-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
Following Vaughn’s three-pointer from the right corner that snapped a 42-all tie with 6:12 remaining in the contest, Providence Grove fought back to seize the advantage for good at 46-45 on McClain’s bank shot in the paint with 5:14 to play.
McClain’s fast break layup at the 3:18 mark then gave the Lady Patriots the biggest lead by either team up to that point at 52-47, igniting Providence Grove’s game-ending 9-3 burst that sealed the victory for the visitors from Franklinville.