INMAN, S.C. – On Tuesday night, the Chapman community honored over 50 alumnae from the girls’ basketball program, which included former head coach Jane Lewis. She served in that role from 1978 to 1989 and guided them to three state championships.
“Our theme for the past two or three years has been ‘The Sisterhood’,” Chapman head coach Leslie Boyd explained. “We’re making sure that we embody the sisterhood. We talk about it all the time in practice. We’ll look up and let those state championship banners be an inspiration. It was great that we were able to see all of these women, meet them, put names with faces, and see how big our sisterhood really is.” One could say the current version of the Chapman basketball team honored them in their own way against longtime rival Chesnee. A strong first half served as the tone setter and helped propel the Lady Panthers to a 55-33 victory over the Lady Eagles. Caroline Garner went on an 8-0 run – featuring two three pointers – to put Chapman ahead 10-2 midway through the opening frame. Krislyn Wilder, Clara Gramling, and Gabby Freire combined to knock down four shots from behind the arc in the second quarter, which allowed the Lady Panthers (4-2) to take control of the game. “Our girls worked hard tonight,” Boyd stated. “Our defensive energy gave us a number of opportunities on offense and we hit some big shots. Krislyn (Wilder), Clara (Gramling), and Caroline (Garner) all work great together. They work well off of each other and their teammates. I think all three of them had fun pressuring the ball, being able to get some steals and score in transition.” Three Lady Panthers finished in double figures, led by Garner and Gramling with 18 points apiece. Krislyn Wilder also tallied 13 points. Pearl Holloway and Brie Smith each scored a team-high 13 points for Chesnee. BOYS – Chapman 70, Chesnee 45 Coyie Poole staked the Eagles to a three point lead mere seconds into the game, but then Miles Carter caught fire on the offensive end. The senior scored the Panthers’ first 13 points, spanning the opening 4:27 of the contest. He finished the first quarter having scored 15 of Chapman’s first 23 points. Late in the third quarter, Chapman used a 9-0 run to create more separation between themselves and the Eagles at that juncture of the contest. Carter finished with a game-high 29 points, while Landon Solesbee and Jonathan Mitchell each tallied 13 points. KJ Valentine led the way for Chesnee with a team-high 13 points, along with nine points from Elijah Wease. Chapman (5-2) has a two-game road trip to close out the week, as they visit Powdersville (Thursday) and Shannon Forest (Friday), respectively. Thursday’s games will tip off at 6 PM (girls) and 7:30 (boys), while Friday’s contests are slated for 6:30 and 8 PM starts. Up next for Chesnee is a quick turnaround as they travel to face East Rutherford HS. The girl’s game is scheduled for a 6 PM start, with the boy’s game to follow. -Justin Mathis CHESNEE, S.C. – It was quite the battle that unfolded on Thursday evening as two longtime rivals – Chapman and Chesnee – clashed on the hardwood.
On this evening, a spark from a senior proved to be key, as the Chapman Panthers (4-2) edged the Chesnee Eagles 59-57 in overtime. Trailing by three points with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Chesnee sprinted to the other end of the floor. They found freshman Coyie Poole, who splashed a triple with seven seconds left and sent the game to overtime. “Coyie got a good look on that shot,” said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt. “I believe that Elijah Wease had the assist. I can’t ask for anymore from my guys and I’m super proud. I told them that we’re not going to take a moral victory from it, but the fight and resiliency we showed was unbelievable.” Two lead changes occurred in the first two minutes of the extra period, but Chapman’s Miles Carter keyed a 5-0 burst for the visitors with two driving layups, one of which turned into a three point play and staked the Panthers to a 59-55 lead with 37 seconds to play. “It was good to know that we could go out there and get a big win on the road,” Carter stated. “You always have to score 10 points more (in road games) because they’re always tough. It felt like we had momentum throughout overtime. We just kept pressuring them, pushing the ball up the court, and scoring baskets when we really needed them.” During the last 20 seconds, the Eagles had a couple of chances to either tie or win. Unfortunately for the home team, both shots rimmed out. “It wasn’t a very pretty performance on our part,” Chapman head coach Greg Wilson admitted. “Give Chesnee credit – they were down a player to start and lost another during the game… I think they deserve more credit than we do. We were very, very fortunate (to win). Miles made a couple of great plays for us down the stretch. I’m happy for the win, but I know we’ve got a lot of things to work on before we play them again on Tuesday.” “Our guys showed a lot of resiliency,” Pitt remarked. “To lose your leading scorer (Brady Poole) midway through the second quarter – a guy who’s averaging almost 28 points a game – I just reminded (the team) that we had some opportunities this summer to play when he wasn’t available. We’ve got the guys that can compete & I feel like that’s one of the hallmarks of our program. We’re going to compete for 32 minutes no matter what the scoreboard says and our guys showed that tonight.” Carter finished with a game-high 20 points for Chapman. Jonathan Mitchell (17 points) and Landon Solesbee (15) also finished in double figures. Brady Poole tallied a team-high 17 points for Chesnee, followed by 12 points from KJ Valentine. GIRLS – Chapman 59, Chesnee 20 The Lady Panthers (2-2) opened the game with a 20-3 run over the first five minutes, establishing an early lead. Clara Gramling and Caroline Garner combined to score the first 12 points for the Panthers during that stretch. Chapman used a 15-1 run over a six minute span in the second quarter to create separation between themselves and the Lady Eagles. During the run, Garner and four other Panthers – Krislyn Wilder, Regan Tolleson, Hannah Jones, and Gabby Freire – all came away with scores of their own. Gramling and Garner each finished with a game-high 15 points for Chapman, while Chesnee was led by Haley Edmonds with six points. Both sides will face quick turnarounds for Friday contests. Chapman will return home to host Shannon Forest, while Chesnee will travel to Boiling Springs. The girls’ games will tip off at 6 PM, followed by the boys’ games at approximately 7:30. -Justin Mathis INMAN, S.C. – For the first time in six days, the Chapman Panthers saw their first game action, this time against the Powdersville Patriots in a non-conference doubleheader.
‘Twas a tooth and nail battle throughout, but Chapman (2-1) pulled ahead in the latter stages and managed to hold off the Patriots by a final tally of 66-59. Chapman’s Miles Carter opened the final stanza with a driving layup down the left side of the lane just 15 seconds in, tying the game at 45. About a minute later, Coleman Gray added a basket of his own, putting the Panthers ahead 47-45. “Every night out is a very competitive game,” said Chapman head coach Greg Wilson. “I felt like we didn’t play very well in the first half, but we stayed in the game. In the second half, I thought we settled down and made some big plays. I’m happy for our guys because that’s a big win. Our goal is to get ready for region play… the rest of the week is big (at Chesnee on Thursday, vs Shannon Forest on Friday).” Near the midway point of the frame, Landon Solesbee and Jonathan Mitchell took over the game. Between the two of them, they scored the final 17 points for the Panthers over the last 5:03 of regulation. “In the second half,” Mitchell explained. “We were moving the ball to the high post and playing better around that area of the floor… If we have a better post game, we’ll have a better chance at the three (pointer). If Miles, Landon, or I are having a bad game, the other two will pick up the pace and do better in other areas, like rebounding or taking charges. It’s not all about scoring.” Solesbee splashed a three from the wing, making it a five point Chapman advantage. Mitchell drained the next three field goals, including an old-fashioned three point play for a 60-54 lead with 1:26 remaining. Down the stretch, Solesbee knocked down all six of his free throws to secure the victory. As a team, the Panthers made 17 of 21 attempts from the charity stripe. Mtichell finished with a game-high 19 points, followed by Solesbee with 15, and Miles Carter with 10. GIRLS – Powdersville 91, Chapman 54 The Lady Patriots, led by guard Kara Harrison, jumped out to an early lead in this non-region clash. Chapman cut into the Powdersville lead on a couple of occasions in the first half, which was aided by a pair of triples, one apiece by Krislyn Wilder and Caroline Garner. Harrsion led all scorers with 35 points and also crossed the 1,000 career points plateau. Wilder scored a team-high 15 points for the Lady Panthers, along with 13 points from Garner. Next up for Chapman is a trip up Highway 11 to take on the Chesnee Eagles. The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM, followed by the boys’ game at approximately 7:30. -Justin Mathis INMAN, S.C. – It was a rematch from last year’s 3A basketball playoffs on Wednesday evening as Chapman collided with Blue Ridge in a non-conference tilt.
Unfortunately for the host Panthers, the result was the same as the Tigers claimed a 59-42 victory. Chapman fell behind 9-0 less than three minutes into the contest before a 12-0 run – keyed by a trio of triples, one apiece by Dalton Mahaffey, Daniel Johnson, and Landon Solesbee – helped the Panthers surge ahead by three points. Miles Carter added a layup for a 14-11 Chapman lead late in the opening frame. Trailing by three in the second quarter, a pair of shots in the lane from Jonathan Mitchell pushed the Panthers ahead 20-19 with 4:25 left before intermission. Blue Ridge uncorked a 13-0 run over the last two-plus minutes of the half for a 32-23 lead at the break. The turning point occurred in the third period, as the Panthers became mired in a four minute, eight second scoring drought. That allowed Blue Ridge to expand their lead from single digits all the way out to 14 points before a Taygan Ray three pointer ended the drought. In the final stanza, Chapman (1-1) cut the deficit down to 48-37 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Mitchell but couldn’t pull any closer. Landon Solesbee scored a team-high 16 points for the Panthers, followed by 12 points from Jonathan Mitchell. GIRLS – Blue Ridge 81, Chapman 37 The Lady Tigers took control early on by jumping out to a 12-0 lead at the 4:18 mark of the first quarter. Chapman (1-1) continued to battle throughout the contest. Clara Gramling knocked down a triple in the opening moments of the second quarter. The Lady Panthers used a quick 4-0 burst to cut the deficit down to 23-12 with 5:30 left until halftime. Caroline Garner added a three pointer of her own in the third quarter and Krislyn Wilder added several driving layups, navigating around a number of Tiger defenders. The Panthers will have the rest of this week off before resuming non-region play at home Tuesday against the Powdersville Patriots. The girls' game will tip off at 6 PM, followed by the boys contest at approximately 7:30. -Justin Mathis |
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