The Switzerland County Lady Pacers capped the 2014 portion of their season and headed to a Christmas celebration with a 52-35 defeat of North Decatur on Saturday afternoon.
It was a close game throughout the first half, but Switzerland County turned on the offensive jets in the third quarter; and combined that with a stifling defense that created a big lead.
In the first quarter, North Decatur got things started with back to back buckets from Olivia Siefert and Jessica Banaschak. The Lady Pacers got on the board with an inside basket from Eve Galbreath and a freethrow by Kelsi Konkle, and Sarah Bohman scored inside for the Lady Chargers to grab an early 6-3 lead.
Switzerland County got a freethrow from Brooke Todd, a pair of freethrows from Eve Galbreath, and a bucket from Eve Galbreath that propelled them to a two-point lead; but Sarah Bohman hit a freethrow to cut the advantage to one.
Brooke Todd’s runner near the buzzer found the range, and Switzerland County went to the first break up by three, 10-7.
Sarah Bohman opened the second quarter scoring after getting free inside; but the Lady Pacers got baskets from Eve Galbreath and Whitley Schirmer to push the lead up to five.
North Decatur’s Chelsea Hitchcock drilled a three-pointer to keep things close; but Makenzie Mathews accounted for four straight points on a basket and two freethrows to extend the lead back to six.
North Decatur then scored three straight points; but Lady Pacer Hailee Lay hit a jumper; and after the Lady Chargers made a freethrow, a basket by Whitley Schirmer again put the lead at six.
The Lady Chargers countered with a basket by Olivia Siefert and a freethrow by Samantha Krieger; but Makenzie Mathews drilled a long three-pointer that negated that.
A bucket by Samantha Krieger closed the busy second quarter, and the teams went to the halftime break with Switzerland County holding a 25-21 lead.
The third quarter is when the Lady Pacers began to take full control, scoring 15 straight points as North Decatur would not dent the scoreboard for nearly six minutes.
The run started with Eve Galbreath converting a three-point play; and she followed that with four straight freethrows, as the Lady Pacers continued to pour the ball inside to its senior center.
Senior Hailee Lay then got in on the action, hitting a short jumper; and Brooke Todd sliced her way through the lane for two more buckets on her way to four straight points.
Eve Galbreath then capped the run with another inside basket; and with 2:16 to play, Switzerland County held a 40-21 lead.
Dazed by the run, North Decatur finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of freethrows by Sarah Bohman and Samantha Krieger got a rebound and a put back that closed the third quarter, with Switzerland County holding a 40-25 lead.
The fourth quarter saw Coach Ashley Kitts’ charges continue to move the ball inside to Eve Galbreath, as she continued to dominate the play in the lane.
Sarah Bohman began to make herself known offensively for the Lady Chargers, and after she scored, Makenzie Mathews connected on a three-point play. Sarah Bohman then had two straight baskets for North Decatur and Mary Hughes made a freethrow, and with just under four minutes to play, the Lady Chargers had narrowed the gap to 13, 45-32.
North Decatur’s Sarah Bohman went to the line for two freethrows, and after hitting the first, the second bounced free and Lady Pacer Kelsi Konkle pulled down a key rebound, and was fouled on the play. She made the first of her freethrows, and when the second bounced off, teammate Makenzie Mathews grabbed the offensive rebound, allowing Switzerland County to continue to drain the clock.
The ball eventually went back inside to Eve Galbreath, who connected to put the lead back at 15.
From there, both teams exchanged freethrow attempts; with Switzerland County getting a freethrow from Brooke Todd and three from Hailee Lay.
North Decatur couldn’t get past the tough Switzerland County defense, the final horn sounded with the Lady Pacers winning their 10th game of the season, 52-35.
Eve Galbreath led all scorers with 21 points on the afternoon; while Makenzie Mathews joined her in double figures, finishing with 19.
Brooke Todd ended with eight points; Hailee Lay had seven; Whitley Schirmer had four; and Kelsi Konkle contributed two.
North Decatur was led by Sarah Bohman, who finished with 17 points.
The win now provides Switzerland County with some time off, as the Lady Pacers will return to the court on Friday, January 2nd at Providence before entering tourney play in the Rivertown Classic on Wednesday, January 7th.
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In the junior varsity game, North Decatur defeated Switzerland County 30-26.
Switzerland County had balanced scoring, led by Hope Tankersley with six points. Jody Breeck had five points; Riley King and Whitley Schirmer had four each; Emerson Schroer had three; and both Taylar Jordan and Ashley Peelman contributed two points each.