The Chesnee Lady Eagles used a last second shot in overtime to down the Broome Centurions 43-41 on their way to earning the number three seed out of Region II for the upcoming 3A playoffs. "More than anything I wanted this win for Logan Lawter and Abbey Ray,” said Chesnee head coach Carey Burns. “They have meant alot to this program over the years." Broome's Sonnia Eison opened the scoring on Thursday night and Destiny West later hit a free throw to give Broome an early 3-0 lead but Chesnee answered with solid defense by shutting out Broome for the remainder of the quarter and going on a 7-0 run. Abbey Ray and Jessa Beach combined for all seven points with Ray scoring five of the points in the quarter. Chesnee continued their run as Logan Lawter sank a basket to make it a 9-0 run to open the second quarter. Broome responded with a 9-2 run of their own that saw five of the Centurion's nine points come from the free throw line to give Broome a 12-11 lead with just over four minutes left in the half. Chesnee's Jamaya Evans quickly put the Lady Eagles back in front as the game went back and forth for the remainder of the half with the final points coming from Chesnee's Brie Smith as time expired as her basket cut Broome's halftime lead to 17-16. Eison sank a basket for Broome to open the second half but Chesnee quickly responded with an 8-0 run to build a five point lead. Jamekia Evans sparked the run with five points. Broome responded with a 4-0 run to end the quarter and shrink the Eagle's lead back to one. Broome's Rachael Roper hit a free throw to open the scoring and tie the game to start what would be a back and forth fourth quarter. Neither team led by more than three points in the final frame. Ray came up big for the Eagles as she scored seven of their thirteen points in the fourth quarter as neither team found an advantage after four quarters and went to overtime tied at 37-37. Broome's Emily Cooke opened the scoring in the overtime period with a putback but Brie Smith quickly tied it up by sinking a pair of free throws. With the game tied o. the final position of the game, Chesnee's Jessa Beach collected an offensive rebound and got the put-back basket as time expired to give the Eagle's the 43-41 win. "It feels good, but I honestly didn't think it was going to go in,” said Jessa Beach about her game winning shot. “To see the shot fall was great." "I think a lot of times when you put pressure on kids and they succeed it helps their self confidence,” said Burns. “Throughout the season Jessa's self confidence has just built up and you could see it as she sank that shot." Chesnee's two seniors came up big on senior night as Abbey Ray scored fourteen points and collected fourteen rebounds. "It's sad but coming off a win makes it fell great,” said Ray about winning on senior night. “This win gives us momentum going into the playoffs." Fellow senior Logan Lawter scored five points and had a big game defensively. "I'm sad that this was my last home game but I’m really happy we pulled out the win,” said Lawter about her final home game. “We now have momentum going into the playoffs." Jamekia Evans and Jessa Beach each had solid nights as well offensively for Chesnee as Evans scored seven points while Beach added six points. Sonnia Eison lead Broome with eleven points and Emily Cooke added eight points. The win wasn’t the only great moment for Chesnee senior Abbey Ray as she entered her final home game with 997 career rebounds and in the first quarter she collected the three she needed to reach 1,000 for her career. "It is very rewarding,” said Ray about the accomplishment. “I work hard and I push myself to be better everyday. This is a goal I told my daddy I wanted to work for and achieve." "You couldn’t ask for a better athlete, student, or better kid than Abbey Ray,” said Chesnee head coach Carey Burns. “I've been blessed to be apart of her career here at Chesnee High School." Ray is listed in the South Carolina state record book for her performance in 2018 when she grabbed thirty-four rebounds against Brashier Middle College. Ray currently sits at 1,011 career rebounds. Eagles Boys Falls Short Against BroomeThe Broome Centurions used a big fourth quarter to force overtime where they pulled away to down the Chesnee Eagles 70-66 to secure the third seed out of Region II in the upcoming 3A playoffs.
The Centurions got off to a fast 5-0 start behind a basket from Markus Lindsay and a three from KJ Morgan. Chesnee closed the quarter on 15-5 run as they got a balanced scoring attack during the run as six different Eagles registered a point. AJ Littlejohn hit a three pointer as time expired in the quarter to give Chesnee a 15-10 lead after the first quarter. Chesnee built a 29-20 halftime lead behind more balanced scoring including four points from senior Matthew Lawter. They continued to build on their lead in the third as Nyquille O'Fair sank a shot with ten seconds left to help Chesnee build a 39-28 lead after the third quarter. The fourth quarter featured a huge 15-0 run by Broome to give them a 48-45 lead as the run lasted nearly three minutes and saw Kendre Sinclair score eight points. Chesnee was able to fend off the Centurions attempt at victory in the fourth quarter when the Eagles KJ Valentine hit a runner in the lane to tie the game at 59-59 with eight seconds left to force overtime. Broome opened the overtime period on a 6-0 run but Chesnee's AJ Littlejohn responded with a layup to stop the run. Littlejohn scored all seven of the Chesnee points in overtime but Broome was once again sparked by Kendre Sinclair as he scored five of the Centurions eleven points in the final frame to give Broome the 70-66 win. Nyquille O'Fair led all scorers with twenty points and AJ Littlejohn added fourteen points. Chesnee senior Matthew Lawter had a big night in his final home game as he registered ten points. "It's sad but at the same time I'm excited to see what we have in store for the playoffs." Lawter said. Fellow senior Jacob Kimbrell had a solid night defensively and added a point on the offensive end. "I feel like we have had a good season,” said Kimbrell. “This senior year I wouldn't rather take to the floor with anybody else than these guys." "It's always special to come into your last game at home no matter who it is against,” said Chesnee head coach Andy Pitt. “They both came out and laid on the line tonight." The Eagles will be the fourth seed out of Region II heading into the upcoming 3A playoffs. Comments are closed.
|
Our Sponsors
. If you would like to join us as a sponsor please contact us at: [email protected]
Archives
October 2023
Categories |