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HOLLAND - When the subject of defense came up after Cheltenham’s 66-41 win over Council Rock South, Shayla Felder allowed herself a smile.
“Oh, our defense was very good,” the Lady Panthers’ senior captain said. “We kind of messed up their offense.
“It was kind of hard for them to get baskets, especially outside of the lane. We don’t have many tall players, so they used their height as an advantage and got us in foul trouble, but our overall defense was good but tiring.”
If it was tiring to the Lady Panthers, it was all but debilitating to the Golden Hawks, who watched an early 6-2 lead turn into a 20-10 deficit at the end of one quarter. The Lady Panthers added to that lead in every quarter, rolling to a 66-41 win, and for a Cheltenham squad that plays in the smaller American Conference, this was a statement game of sorts.
“I think we were more nervous than excited today because the big hype was they went into overtime with Council Rock North,” Felder said. “We knew this was going to be a big game, so we had to bring our ‘A’ game and give it all we’ve got.
“Our whole mindset was – ‘We’re undefeated, so we’re going to play like we’re an undefeated team. They’re good, but we’re better.’”
Sophomore Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews scored a game-high 17 points for the Lady Panthers, connecting for seven of those points in the opening quarter.
“The kids said they were ready for this,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “They were fired up.”
The Golden Hawks trimmed the Lady Panthers’ lead to six (24-18) midway through the second quarter, but again the Lady Panthers had an answer, closing out the quarter with a 13-5 run that was sparked by their pressure defense.
“Our defense wasn’t as sharp in the beginning of the second quarter,” Schaefer said. “But then we really started getting in their faces, and you could see them tiring and getting frustrated.
“We hit the boards well, and there were a couple of times when the kids did nice things inside, and they worked together. They beat us a couple of times off screens, but outside of that, I thought the kids controlled the game very well.”
Liz Taliaferro came off the bench to ignite the defense, creating havoc for the Golden Hawks ball handler while also scoring six points in the second quarter.
“We had Liz on the ball, and by her pressuring the ball, it gave everybody else a chance to get to their spots, to make our shifts and protect the basket,” said junior Austin Hamler, who pulled down a team high eight boards. “I was a little nervous coming in, but it was fun. It was better than knowing we were going to blow a team out.”
One of the game’s prettiest plays came in the Lady Panthers’ run to close out the first half.
Moments after Kira Ogden (seven points, seven rebounds) scored on a putback, Andrews came up with a steal on the defensive in, took it coast-to-coast, pulled up and banked home a shot over a pair of defenders for a 35-20 lead.
The Panthers, who led 37-23 at the half, put the game away in the third quarter. A three-point play by Ogden on a putback made it a 40-23 game. Alex Wheatley - who led the Hawks with 13 - answered with a three-point play.
Felder found Monet Constant for a basket, and when Felder buried a baseline trey, the Panthers led 44-26. The Golden Hawks never threatened the rest of the way.
Felder turned in a glittering all-around effort, contributing 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and five assists. Taliaferro had 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. For the Golden Hawks, Chelsea Allen added 11 points.
CHELTENHAM 66, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 41
Cheltenham 20 17 15 14-66
Council Rock South 10 13 7 11-41
Cheltenham (66) – Liz Taliaferro 6 0-0 12; Monet Constant 3 0-0 7; Ciara Andrews 7 1-2 17; Tiffany Johnson 2 0-0 4; Christina Coleman 2 0-0 4; Kira Ogden 3 1-1 7; Shayla Felder 6 1-3 13; Austin Hamler 0 2-2 2; Lorraine Oliver 0 0-0 0; Jiana Clark 0 0-0 0; Artavia Sheffield 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 29 5-8 66.
Council Rock South (41) – Lea Britton 2 0-0 4; Jackie Weber 1 0-0 3; Emily Nowicke 2 3-4 7; Chelsea Allen 4 3-4 12; Alexis Hofstaedter 1 0-0 3; Alex Wheatley 6 1-1 13; Courtney Brown 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 7-9 41.
Cheltenham 20 17 15 14-66
Council Rock South 10 13 7 12-41
3-point goals: Cheltenham – Andrews 2, Constant. CR South – Weber, Hofstaedter.
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