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Sophie Powell (14) launches her three-pointer from the left corner to give the Lady Chiefs a 23-9 lead early in the third quarter of the Chiefs 50-37 win over the St. James Lady Sharks last Friday night at North Myrtle Beach. The Lady Chiefs began this week’s action against Mullins and Myrtle Beach with a 15-0 record and first place in region 6AAAAA
By John Smithson
The North Myrtle Beach Lady Chiefs continued their undefeated basketball season last week, winning home games Tuesday and Friday over Carolina Forest and St. James.
The 15-0 Chiefs expected a tough game against the Panthers who came into NMB with an 11-3 record, 2-0 in region play.
The Panthers and the Chiefs played “one of the best competitive games so far” according to Lady Chiefs head coach Heather Kearney. “We would make a play, and they would make a play. They are a good team, and the game was close and competitive throughout. Our fourth quarter defense was the difference.”
The Panthers led 17-16 after the first quarter and the Chiefs went ahead 31-30 at halftime. The Panthers outscored the Chiefs 20-13 in the third quarter to take a 50-44 lead into the final eight minutes.
The Chiefs then played probably their best defensive quarter of the year, holding the Panthers to 2 points and winning their first region meeting of the teams 57-52.
The Chiefs scoring was led by Maddie Vereen with 18 points. Sophie Powell scored 17 points with three triples. Vereen also had 7 of the Chefs 25 steals in the game. Jurnee Blye had 14 points and 7 rebounds in the game.
The Panthers Miracle McLean scored 18 points and Mayrissa Doncely had 16 points to lead their offense.
Last Friday night the St. James Lady Sharks visited NMB and Coach Kearney “expected a different game than the Panthers game. “St. James has good, young talent, and their eighth grader Krysten Small is phenomenal. They are well coached and play hard,” Kearney said.
First quarter scoring started slowly for both teams, with referee whistles, turnovers and missed shots punctuating early play. The score was 3-3 at the four-minute mark, before Jurnee Blye scored to give the Chiefs a 5-3 lead. Blye was 2 for 2 from the foul line fifteen seconds later and it was 7-3. Blye and Maddie Vereen scored 2 and 3 points from the foul line to end the quarter with the Chiefs in front 13-9.
The Chiefs opened the second quarter with Sophie Powell hitting 2 free throws, Aubrey Anglin hitting a three, and a steal and layup by Maddie Vereen. That was followed by a three-pointer from Powell, and it was 23-9. Each team added four points to take a Chiefs 27-13 lead at halftime.
The Chiefs outscored the Sharks 10-2 with a Blye rebound basket giving NMB a 37-15 lead in the third quarter. The Sharks recovered, took advantage of turnovers and NMB missed shots to trail 38-23 after three quarters.
The whistles continued in the fourth quarter. Powell and Blye picked up their fourth fouls early in the fourth. Katlyn Powers fouled out with three minutes left in the game. The Sharks crept to within 11 points of the Chiefs but Blye, Powell and Vereen provided the closing points to a 50-37 victory.
The Chiefs scoring trio provided for most of the Chiefs offense. Vereen scored 19 points, Blye 13 and Powell 11 points. Krystan Small led the Sharks with 14 points.
After the game Coach Kearney reflected on several things. The win streak. “Every win that we get means we are a bigger target. We have to accept that and understand that we can make someone’s season by them beating us. We have to thrive off that, knowing that we have to play at our optimal level in every single game. We can’t have an off night in effort. We could have an off night in scoring, but defensively and rebounding, we have to put it together every night.”
Concerning the many fouls called in the game. “There were a lot of fouls that interrupted the flow of the game. We can play whatever style of game there is. I just have to coach them into it. If they are giving us a tight whistle, then we have to change. If the officials let us play, then that figures in too. It was a little disjointed at times. But at the end of the first quarter and at halftime I told them those were ‘uncontrollables’ I worry about those as coach. As a player you just go out and play, and control what you can control, which is energy, effort, communication and intensity.”
“The fans or officials are outside our ‘me circle.’ We don’t want to expend our energy on those things that don’t matter or we can’t control. Tonight, there were more fouls. If you have two fouls when that happens then you have to be more disciplined with your hands or your rotation. But we have enough veterans with two seniors and two juniors that should know and be able to feel the game. If you don’t feel the game, even if you have a game plan, you may have to make adjustments out there on the floor,” Kearney concluded.
The Chiefs played Mullins on Monday afternoon at Marion for a MLK tournament. Kearney said they would have shot clock for those games which should be interesting for players considering college.
The Chiefs play Myrtle Beach tomorrow night in an away region game. “Both teams want to win and records go out the window. You never know what will happen. The road isn’t easy, but we wouldn’t want it easy. We just want to learn from it. There are peaks and valleys in every sport. It’s easy when you are on the peaks to ride it out. But the sign of a really quality team is what you get out of those quality battles. They may not happen, but if they do then how can we uplift, build trust and get people on board and then go from there,” Kearney said.
