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Lady Eagles Finishes Off Blue Dons

By Staff | Mar 4, 2015

Magnolia’s Kelsi Chapman drained a three-point basket with one second left in regulation to help the Lady Eagles defeat Weirton Madonna 47-44 in the Region I, Section I Semifinals at Brooke High School Feb. 25.

With the score knotted at 44-44 and six seconds showing on the clock, Grace Berisford made a try at the basket, but her shot was rejected. Blue Eagle Autumn Cecil scooped it up and rifled a pass to Chapman, who calmly tickled the twine from beyond the arc to win the game.

“We did exactly what we wanted,” said Magnolia Head Coach Tom Tisher. “Autumn picked up the loose ball and dished it over to Kelsi who hit a nice shot.”

The Blue Dons scored the game’s first six points, but the Lady Eagles soared back and tallied the next 10 points and were up 12-9 at the end of one period.

Cecil scored her lone basket of the night to open the second period, but Madonna countered with a 15-0 run to take charge, 25-14. The Lady Eagles responded with a 7-0 run to end the first half, down 25-21.

Taylor Ludewig banked in a three pointer to cap off a 10-0 run to pull the Lady Eagles to within a point to open the third stanza. Later in the period, Grace Berisford drilled a triple to give sectional guests the lead at 32-30.

Madonna answered with a pair of charity tosses with three minutes left in the third period. However, the Lady Eagles finished the period with five points, including a Chapman triple at the buzzer that gave Magnolia a 37-34 lead to start the final period.

Madonna narrowed the gap to 42-41 with 1:36 left to play, but Magnolia senior Kierra Standiford sank her only basket of the night to extend the Blue Eagle lead to 44-41 with 1:01 left in regulation.

The Blue Dons worked it inside and scored a conventional three-point play to knot things up with 48.5 seconds remaining to play. It looked like the game was heading into overtime, as both teams each had opportunities to break the tie. But, after a block and the combination of Cecil-to-Chapman finished things off.

Berisford scored a game-high 21 points, including a quartet of baskets from beyond the arc, while Chapman netted 16 markers, including another four baskets from long range.

Taylor Ludewig swished a pair of bonus bombs, while Standiford and Cecil ended the scoring with two points each. Berisford, Standiford and Katie Blatt each made four steals, while Standiford rejected two Blue Don shots, and Blatt and Berisford one apiece. Blatt, Berisford and Chapman each dished out three assists, while Blatt pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.