Cheney's Peyton Stark finds her way to the basket blocked by Clarkston's Jaclyn Meyers during the first half of Friday's game with the visiting Bantams.
The Cheney High School girls' basketball team overcame a sluggish start and some foul trouble to notch their first Great Northern League victory of the season with a 45-41 win at Pullman High last Saturday night.
The Lady Blackhawks outscored the Greyhounds 27-15 through the second and third quarters to take a 32-26 lead into the final period. Cheney held off Pullman in those final eight minutes with free throw shooting, hitting 10 foul shots down the stretch, including a pair by Peyton Stark with just seconds remaining to preserve the win.
Cheney was 19 for 27 overall from the line, and while they didn't hit a 3-pointer in the game, eight of their 13 baskets from the field came off assists, something head coach JT Johnson was particularly happy about.
Haley Pemberton led all scorers with 12 points, with Stark adding 10 to go with 11 rebounds. Hailee Huff also pulled down 11 boards.
Johnson said the key to Cheney's win was its defense, especially in half court. The Lady Blackhawks forced 25 total fouls by Pullman, including a pair of charges taken by both Stark and Pemberton.
"We are getting better on defense," Johnson said. "(We're) doing the little things."
Twenty-four hours earlier on Friday, Jan. 8, the Lady Blackhawks had a good start against the visiting Clarkston Bantams, getting a number of close basket opportunities, but failing to convert. The visitors had their troubles as well as neither team scored until the 5 minute, 3 second mark in the first quarter when Clarkston hit a free throw, and followed that with a offensive rebound put-back by Maxine Whitetemple.
Cheney finally got on the board at the 2:01 mark on a pair of free throws by Huff. But while Cheney's offense struggled, Clarkston's clicked into gear, going on an 8-2 run to start the second, and then a 9-2 run, keyed by a 6-0 run off three straight Lady Blackhawks turnovers, to open a 27-8 lead with 1:54 to play before the half, and 34-13 at the break.
Johnson said his team didn't give up, eventually cutting the Bantams lead to 15 midway through the third quarter, but could get no closer in the 51-29 loss.
"We competed for 32 minutes, something we didn't do in a couple games over the (holiday) break," Johnson said.
Brette Draper and Kristi McGourin both had seven points as Cheney had no players reach double-digit scoring.
Cheney began the week with a 58-32 home loss to GNL leader East Valley on Jan. 6.
Cheney, 1-3 GNL, 4-7 overall, hosts Northeast A League Medical Lake (3-6) tonight (Thursday) in the annual Spirit Game. The Lady Blackhawks return to league play Saturday, traveling to East Valley (3-0, 10-2) and follow that with a trip to West Valley (1-2, 4-7) Jan. 19.
Johnson just wants to get his players through the excitement of the annual Spirit Game, hoping for a higher scoring contest - especially for the Lady Blackhawks - than last year's 30-22 outcome. Against East Valley, Cheney needs to handle the Knights press and defend other players besides their leading scorer Hannah Burland, who was held to just four points in the Jan. 6 loss.
At West Valley, Johnson said they must recognize the Eagles traps on defense, and get to the line more on offense. To emphasize that, Johnson said Cheney has shot 24 free throws with a 66 percent make average in their four wins, versus 17 free throws at 52 percent in their seven losses.
"When we're the aggressors, and we're taking it at them, we're in better shape," he added.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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