The Chatham High School girls' basketball team pulled off an exciting win at home against Madison last night.
The Lady Cougars' consistency, fast-paced transitions, and free-throw execution helped the team fend off a late Dodger run and come out on top, 48-37.
Caroline Murphy was a major factor in the victory. She contributed plenty of offense from her position and registered several rebounds on defense.
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"We were prepared," Murphy said. "We moved the ball well, and we ran the floor well. We got easy fast-break layups."
In the first quarter, Murphy, Kelsey Hart, and Amanda Berntsen got on the board, giving Chatham a 10-6 lead after the first seven minutes. Berntsen's skillful dribbling led to four points off of driving layups in the first quarter alone.
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Chatham's Emily Frank got in on the scoring to start off the second quarter, and starter Kelsey Davies' anticipation and quick hands helped her make a crucial steal and layup to run the score to 18-8. Berntsen added a steal and pass of her own, which helped the Lady Cougars close the half out on top, 20-13.
Murphy continued to dominate at center in the third quarter, making agile layups and dishing the ball to teammates around the perimeter. As Madison heated up on offense, the Lady Cougars kept sinking shots: Davies hit a deep three-pointer with a long arc to stifle any kind of a comeback, and Berntsen's steal and finish helped to put Chatham ahead 33-24 going into the final quarter.
As the Madison girls began pressing, the Lady Cougars were forced to react. At first, several passes went out of bounds and Chatham gave up a few turnovers. After a few minutes of play, though, the Lady Cougars were on the run: Berntsen put up seven points in the fourth quarter and Hart scored four to help the cause.
Madison's intensity picked up as it came within two points of the Cougars late in the fourth quarter, but Chatham's attack proved to be too much for the Dodgers.
Chatham Head Coach Joe Gaba was proud of his team's performance against their neighboring rivals. The Cougars are now 6-3.
"We finally established an inside game against their ... defense," Coach Gaba said after the game. "We weathered the storm in the second half in their comeback. It was good to execute when we had to: we hit the foul shots when we had to."
Gaba said the Lady Cougars need to change a few things for their upcoming games.
"We need to make better decisions, and we need to take care of the ball," he said.
Chatham will face Mountain Lakes on the road Saturday at 5pm.
