By Malcolm Butler
After a nightmarish performance on the free throw line, Cedar Creek hit three of its last four in the final 22 seconds, including a pair by Caroline James with 5 seconds to play, sealing a 56-51 road win over Lincoln Prep in a District 2-1A match-up.
Mallory Smith scored 15 points and Leah Sutherland added 13 points as the Lady Cougars (13-9, 2-0) snapped the Lady Panthers (8-12, 1-1) five-game winning streak that dated back to late December.
“I knew this was a crucial, valuable game for us to win on the road,” said head coach Katie Hall. “Watching film on them I told my husband earlier today that they are good. I knew they were playing with confidence. Thad had a win streak. What I saw on film is they could be explosive and dangerous, and I was worried about the match-up coming in to tonight.”
In a game that saw 13 lead changes and six ties, the Lady Cougars were able to finally take the lead for good at 48-46 on a Sutherland three-pointer with 5:05 to play in the fourth quarter. However, the final five minutes saw plenty of drama — much thanks to Creek’s struggles at the not-so-charitable stripe.
The Lady Cougars, who made only 15-of-36 free throws in the game, made only 4-of-12 between Sutherland’s go-ahead three-pointer and James’ game-sealing two free throws with five seconds to play.
“I tried to not make a big deal about it, but I knew we needed to make (those free throws in that situation),” said Hall. “The girls knew it. I am proud that we were able to hit a couple (late), but we definitely struggled. I am glad we were able to get to the line as much as we did.
“It was a very physical game. Our girls were ready for a physical game. We told them going into it that it was going to be a physical game. I am glad we kept our cool and not loose our composure.”
After struggled on the defensive end for most of the first three quarters, Creek used a strong defensive performance over the final five minutes to secure the win. Lincoln Prep took a 46-45 lead with six minutes to play, but managed only five points the rest of the way.
“I will take blame for (our struggles defensively),” said Hall. “I kept trying to mix it up. The girls got confused. I will take responsibility for that. I was trying to figure out what was going to work because I was trying to figure out what may work. We got out of sync defensively, and I will take blame for that.”
Creek led 16-13 after the first quarter before the Lady Panthers rallied in the second quarter to take a 27-26 advantage into the halftime lockerroom. Jayleen Spann and Asijah Wright were the catalysts for Lincoln Prep most of the night, combining to score 30 points.
“They are a great team,” said Hall. “My hats off to them. I felt they played a really great game.”
The third quarter saw the Lady Cougars capitalize on the play of Smith, who scored 10 of her 15 points during the eight-minute frame. She opened the quarter with a three-pointer and then after the Lady Panthers took a 34-30 lead, Smith answered with back-to-back buckets to pull to within 36-34.
Sutherland’s conventional three-point play gave Creek a 37-36 lead with 2:17 to play in the quarter and then Smith’s second three-pointer of the frame tied the game at 42-42 in the closing seconds of the quarter.
Mary Grace Hawkins layup gave the Lady Cougars an early lead in the final quarter before Lincoln Prep answered to regain the advantage on back-to-back buckets by Tracionna Hampton, setting up the frenzied final six minutes of the game.
Although Sutherland’s 13 point effort was huge, it was her job on the glass that might have been even bigger. Twice in the final 60 seconds of the game, Sutherland pulled down an offensive rebounds on a missed free throw to maintain possession for the Lady Cougars.
“The girl is a warrior,” said Hall. “She just finds a way to get to the ball. She is relentless. It is all about heart with her. I really wanted to give her a quick breather early in the fourth, but I couldn’t take her out because she was clearing off every defensive board and those two offensive boards late were amazing.”
James added nine points, Zoey Venters eight points and Hawkins seven points in the win.
The Lady Cougars will travel to face St. Fred’s Tuesday.
