Lady Rebels fall in OT thriller at home to Chester

PROSPERITY, S.C. — The lady Rebels opened up region play last week, but came up just short in a hard fought overtime battle. Mid-Carolina(4-10,0-1 region 3-AA) fell 54-51 to Chester(9-3, 1-1 region 3-AA) on Tuesday, Jan. 14th.

After a short pause in action due to the winter storms, area teams returned back to the court on last week to resume the second half of the basketball season. Both teams got off to an anticipated slow start in the first quarter after having a few extra days off. Mid-Carolina led 10-8 after the opening period.

The energy and pace picked up for both squads in the second quarter. Both teams to start pick up the pressure on the defensive end which led to easy baskets in transition. Rebels’ junior guard Brea Boyd asserted herself early on the offensive end in this game. She had eight free-three attempts in the first half and led both teams in scoring for the game.

Mid-Carolina held a 24-20 lead at halftime.

The lady Rebels came out of the half very lethargic to open up the third quarter with three turnovers to start the period and gave up a 8-0 run to the Cyclones. After a quick timeout, Mid-Carolina got things going with a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead.

Katie Gallman provided great energy for the lady Rebels with her hustle. She was able to grab several offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive for the home team and provide good ball pressure on Chester’s guards to create turnovers. Mid-Carolina trailed 33-35 going into the fourth quarter.

The Cyclones controlled the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but Mid-Carolina found a way to keep things close. The home team went on 4-0 run to tie the game at 41-41 with a little under four minutes left in the game. The two teams traded blows as they game went down to the wire. Gallman got a steal and made the go-ahead layup with about 30 seconds left on the game clock. Then, senior forward Jasmine Callazo continued her dominate night by answering with a clutch layup of her own to reclaim the lead for Chester.

Rebels’ starting point guard Brayden Brooks was able to push the ball down the floor and draw the foul with only six seconds left on the clock. She made one of two free-throws to tie the game at 46-46. The visitors were able to get one last attempt to win the game in regulation but the shot missed.

In overtime, the two teams continued to go back-and-forth. Chester had a slim lead that quickly evaporated as Boyd began to take over offensively for the home team. Mid-Carolina was able to tie the game in the final minute of overtime, but the Cyclones quickly answered with a huge three-point shot to reclaim the lead, 54-51.

Mid-Carolina pushed the ball up the floor and had a good look from Addie Bowers that just missed. It would’ve tied the game. The basketball gods gave the lady Rebels one last chance though. Callie Wilbanks dived on the floor to get the loose ball after the Bowers’ miss that led to a scramble. She injured her knee on the dive attempt and it caused for an injury timeout.

The Rebels were able to set up their defense and got a steal coming out of the timeout with about nine seconds left on the game clock. They then called another timeout to set up a possible game tying play. Mid-Carolina inbounded the ball and made a strong driving attempt for a layup and possibly get the foul, but came up short.

“Well the timeout before that with like 11.5 seconds on the injury timeout, I told them you have to deny like you never denied before. You know this game is not over, but we have to get a stop and get the ball back so we can have a chance. We made a great play over there diving for the ball and got a quick timeout,” said Rebels’ head coach Gary Wilbanks.

He continued, “We got exactly what we wanted out of the inbound play. We had Brea wide open look in the corner for the three ball, but we attacked the basket instead. It is nobody’s fault at all. She was trying to make a play and she is just an high school player. We got what we wanted, but just didn’t execute it right. Proud of the way they battled, but its a tough way to start the region. We now have to regroup for Friday.”

Boyd finished with a game high 19 points. Brooks had 11 points along with Bowers 10 points and four blocks.

Mid-Carolina will hit the road for a region battle against a tough Eau Claire squad on Friday, Jan. 17th. Then, they will return home for two more region battles against Fairfield Central on Jan. 21st and Clinton on Jan. 24th.