PARKERS CHAPEL - Parkers Chapel’s girls gutted out a 41-39 win over Ouachita Tuesday night in the 2A-8 opener for both teams. The Lady Trojans improved to 3-2 overall while the Lady Warriors, who started three freshmen, fell to 7-6 on the season.
“Getting that first conference win, it doesn’t make things easier but you always want to get that first win. Winning that first game against a feisty little bunch like that, I was proud of their effort,” said PC coach Justin Welch. “The game wasn’t perfect but the girls played hard and they competed the whole time.”
Krista Rivers scored 20 points with 11 rebounds for PC, which trailed by three with a minute left in the third. Rivers hit two free throws to end the third and started the fourth with a three-point play to give the Lady Trojans a 34-32 lead.
With the score knotted at 34-34, sophomore Lilah Welch drained a 3-pointer for PC. Ouachita’s Carley Cox answered with a 3-pointer on the other end before Welch popped another 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Lady Trojans a 40-37 advantage with 3:20 remaining.
Cox hit two free throws to cut the deficit to one with 56.2 seconds left. The Lady Warriors got the ball back but Cox missed and Rivers came up with the loose ball rebound after a scramble. The senior, who left the game with cramps earlier in the fourth, hit one free throw with 4.2 seconds left.
Ouachita worked the ball into the front court with a side out-of-bounds near midcourt with 1.1 ticks remaining. A pass to the wing left Morgan Neel with a 3-point heave, which hit the front of the rim and bounced off at the buzzer.
“Our chemistry is getting better every single day. I’m starting to see some growth there,” said Welch. “For us to come out and win this ball game, where last Monday we lost a game to Hamburg in a similar situation. I really think we turned a tough non-conference loss into a tough conference win tonight because we learned from it. We didn’t execute perfectly but we definitely played better than what we did against Hamburg. I was proud to see that. That’s a huge confidence booster for them.
“I’m proud of every single girl. It takes every single girl on the team.”
Lilah Welch scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Bella Goodwin had five points and 10 rebounds. Zo Pumphrey contributed six steals and four assists.
Cox scored 18 for Ouachita.
“We have a quick turnaround,” said Welch. “Friday night’s ball game has been moved to Thursday night. We have a quick turnaround. I told them to enjoy this one until midnight and we’ll start focusing on Gurdon (Wednesday).”
PC won the junior girls game 29-26. Kinley Welch scored eight and E’Eliyah Mayweather six for the Lady Trojans.
PC hosts Gurdon for another conference matchup on Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m. with junior girls.