Mike Richardson desperately pleaded his case with the officials after his star guard Tori McKenzie took a dive on the hardwood early in the fourth quarter after contact with an Altavista player.
The Chatham coach was adamant a foul needed to be called and when none was issued, he took a seat on the floor in protest, resulting in a technical foul and an opportunity for the Colonels to possibly take control of the game.
The Cavaliers, however, were the ones who responded over the game’s final 5 1/2 minutes.
“When Tori went down, that was pretty hard, and I think the whole team wanted to help pick her up a little bit,” Richardson said. “I’m a reactive coach and I just feel like sometimes it helps.”
After Altavista was able to take a one-point lead on the following possession, Chatham ended the game on a 16-3 run, highlighted by 12 points from freshman Jayliuah Giggetts to pick up a 47-35 Dogwood District victory Friday night.
Chatham (13-3, 8-1) sits tied atop the Dogwood standings with Altavista (11-6, 8-1) heading into the final three contests of the regular season.
“It’s real big,” Giggetts said of the win after scoring a team-high 17 points. “It was very important to close the game out.”
Altavista, which went 6 of 17 from the free throw line, went 1 of 5 in the fourth quarter and the missed free throws added to Chatham’s ability to put together the run at the end of the game.
“It seemed like they wanted it more than we did,” Altavista junior T.T. Dews said. “We didn’t rebound as good as we usually do and that made a big difference on the floor.”
Altavista found itself in a 9-0 hole five minutes into the first quarter, but chipped away at the lead and took a 15-3 lead following a Dews 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the second quarter. Once with the lead, the Colonels were able to slow down Chatham and dictate tempo.
The third quarter started off much like the first as Chatham scored two quick baskets by Briana Jones (eight points, eight rebounds) to take a 22-19 lead and Altavista did not score until Dews hit her third 3-pointer of the game with 3:48 left in the third to knot the score at 22-22.
“We went through some periods where we didn’t score, fought our way back and momentum changed at that point,” Altavista coach Debra Spencer said. “We scored off of it … and then after that, I think we kind of got away from what we wanted to do and what had been successful for us. Really, it only takes a minute or two.”
Giggetts’ first of three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter gave Chatham a 36-32 lead and the floodgates seem to open right after that. The freshman guard hit another triple less than a minute later to put the Cavs up five.
“They just played really good defense,” Altavista sophomore center Sydney Morris said after recording nine points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
Dews finished with a team-high 17 points and Kayla Donigan scored six points.
McKenzie finished with seven points, four rebounds and four steals. After being plagued with three fouls in the first half, the junior was able to get Chatham’s offense going in the right direction, even after the hard hit she took in the fourth quarter.
“Any time one of our players takes a hard hit, we all take it to heart,” Chatham senior Beth Ann Coder said. “We play for each individual and we play as a team. … Any time one of our players takes a hard hit, we take it personal. We play our hearts out for each and every one on the team.”
Chatham 47, Altavista 35
ALTAVISTA (11-6, 8-1)
Dews 6 2-6 17, Morris 4 1-2 9, Hedgpeth 0 0-0 0, Lee 0 2-4 2, Kayla Donigan 3 0-0 6, C. Cox 0 0-0 0, Robinson 0 0-0 0, L. Cox 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Kalia Donigan 0 1-5 1. Totals 13 6-17 35.
CHATHAM (13-3, 8-1)
McKenzie 3 1-7 7, Jones 4 0-0 8, Giggetts 5 3-4 17, Walker 2 3-4 5, Coder 2 0-0 4, Mulero 0 0-0 0, Lee 0 0-0 0, Roark 2 0-0 4, Anderson 0 0-2 0. Totals 18 7-17 47.
Altavista 6 13 9 7 — 35
Chatham 11 7 9 20 — 47
3-Goint Goals — Altavista 3 (Dews 3), Chatham 4 (Giggetts 4). Fouled Out — Dews, Coder.
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