DELRAY BEACH – Despite coming into last night’s matchup with three game losing streak, the Santaluces Lady Chiefs were able to pull out a last-minute win over the Atlantic Lady Eagles.
In the first half, Atlantic tallied a total of 14 fouls that seemed to slow down its offensive attack tremendously.
Throughout the first half, both teams put up some points and seemed to have felt each other out early on. Atlantic’s defense was able to put the clamps on Santaluces late in the second to take a 30-24 lead going into halftime.
HALFTIME LEADERS
Atlantic: Amari Allen with 9 points; Allen went 3-3 from behind the arch in the first half.
Santaluces: Emiah Downie with 10 points; freshman Brittney Chery with 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Chery would eclipse a double-double at the start of the third quarter for the Lady Chiefs, but Atlantic’s defense was superb as its great team ball effort would keep the lead at 43-37 going into the fourth.
Chery started things off quick in the fourth as she scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the Eagles lead to four.
Not long after that, Santaluces would take its first lead of the second half on a layup by Fabienne Noel, which made the score 46-45 over Atlantic.
Eagles standout Lu Lu Garcia shot a long three to give her team the lead back and some momentum. Allen would get in on the action with a three to take a five-point lead with 3:49 left in the fourth.
At the 2:32 mark, Santaluces tightened its defense and got Atlantic’s lead down to 53-51 after a three by Amanda Estiverne. Downie would tie the game at 53-all after a driving layup with 1:11 left in the game.
With eight seconds left in the game, Atlantic would miss a free throw that could have given it the lead.
Santaluces would get the rebound and drive down the court, where Downie would pass the ball to Brona Jean from the top of the key. Jean would drain the three-pointer as the clock expired to give Santaluces a 56-53 win.
GAME LEADERS
Atlantic: Amari Allen with 17 points
Santaluces: Chery with 17 points, 25 rebounds, and 3 steals; Downie with 14 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds.
Note: After losing to Centennial, Lake Worth, and Boca Raton, the Lady Chiefs knew this was a must-win game. Last nights victory restored the young team’s confidence.
Santaluces now holds a 5-4 record.
