Chatham Overcomes First Half Turnovers Against Hanover Park

The Chatham Lady Cougars basketball team overcame an inordinate number of turnovers and traveling calls to beat Hanover Park High School, 49-39, on Tuesday at Hanover Park High School.

For the first 11 minutes of the game, both Chatham and Hanover Park struggled to get anything going, as each team was either turning the basketball over or being called for traveling during the majority of their possessions. The two teams combined for over 20 turnovers in the game.

For much of the first half, Chatham had good ball movement, but seemed reluctant to take shots. That, combined with lots of traveling calls, led to a low scoring first quarter. Chatham led 9-4 after the first.

The score stayed the same for the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second quarter until Chatham began to heat up.

The Lady Cougars continued moving the ball well and began sinking buckets. Defensively, they remained strong, holding the Hornets scoreless until the quarter's three-minute mark.

Both teams began better protecting the basketball, and the Chatham girls went into the locker room leading 22-12.

In the second half, both teams continued the pace they showed at the end of the first.

Chatham senior Caroline Murphy grabbed five rebounds to go along with her 13 points and four steals during the game. She helped lead Chatham to a 35-26 third quarter advantage.

Sophomore small forward Amanda Berntsen, who led Chatham with 26 points, was perfect from three point range going three of three from behind the arc in the win. She also had four steals, four blocks and two rebounds.

"I haven't been shooting as well as I want to this season," an extremely modest Berntsen said. "It feels great. I feel like I'm finally getting back into my groove."

Junior Kelsey Hart had six points and two rebounds and senior Sam Kennedy had five points and three boards during the game.

"I feel great. It's a really big win, and it really stabilizes us in the conference so it really feels good," Berntsen added.

Chatham improved to 12-4, while Hanover Park dropped to 10-4. The Cougars will face Pequannock Township High School at home on Thursday at 7 p.m.