DURHAM — It was little more than a formality here on Friday night.
The Chatham Central girls basketball team defended its 1A Central Tar Heel Conference title from a year ago by making short work of a completely overmatched Research Triangle club 70-41 in the regular season finale for both squads.
Chatham Central completed a perfect CTH season with a 12-0 mark while improving to 17-3 overall.
Research Triangle dropped to 1-11 in league play and to 5-17 overall with the loss.
It was a rout from the opening tip as Chatham Central raced out to a 10-0 lead under three minutes into the contest, led by a pair of treys from Mary Grace Murchison, and two baskets down in the paint from Maddy Elkins.
The host Raptors finally got on the board on a short jumper from Reagan Chella at the 4:43 mark to close the gap to 10-2, but the Bears would use another trey and driving hoop by Murchison to spark a 6-3 run in the final four minutes to send the locals up 16-5 after one period of play.
Things only got worse from there as Chatham Central used a 14-8 advantage in the second to roar in front 30-13 at the intermission. Elkins and Taylor Hughes each had six points for the Bears in the period while Anna Helms countered with four for the Raptors.
In the third, Chatham Central clicked offensively as the Bears looked sharp, moving the ball around for easy looks time and time again. The result was a 22 point eruption highlighted by nine more points from Elkins, seven from Murchison, including another trey, and four points from Abby Elkins.
Research Triangle’s Helms tried to keep her club in the game in the third, nailing a pair of three-pointers on the way to eight points, but the Raptors still trailed 52-24.
Chatham Central would outscore Research Triangle 18-17 in the fourth to close out the easy 70-41 win and clinch the title. Abby Elkins, Cami Hughes, and Taylor Hughes each had four points in the stanza while Olivia Hudson and Tanner Little each added a basket.
Helms canned three treys in the final quarter on the way to 11 points while Braxton Hamlin chipped in five points, including a three-pointer.
Maddy Elkins paced the Chatham Central offensive attack with 20 points while Murchison added 18, Taylor Hughes 12, and Abby Elkins eight.
Research Triangle was led by a game-high 25 points from Helms while Hamlin added 10.
Chatham Central will begin the 1A Central Tar Heel Conference Tournament this week after receiving a first round bye on Monday night.