By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
Down two points heading into the fourth quarter, the Southside girls team clamped down on defense and ripped off a pivotal 17-2 run to win its season opener 54-40 over Washington on Friday.
The Seahawks (1-0) Katisha Hyman and Chante Painter led the charge late in the game as they scored seven and six points, respectively in the last eight minutes as 1-A Southside out-scored 3-A Washington 24-8 in the final stanza.
Hyman led all scorers with 18 points, while Painter finished with 12.
The Seahawks had only scored six points in the entire second quarter as they went into halftime down 23-16. Southside coach Bill Lake said he was happy to see his squad pick up its play at the right time.
“I wondered where we were until the fourth quarter, then all of a sudden they started to play,” Lake said. “They played really hard like we have been practicing and it paid off. Our girls had a real desire to win and I think that’s what came out in the fourth quarter.
The Pam Pack (0-1) crumbled in the second half as they managed only 17 points for the third and fourth quarters combined.
Turnovers and poor shooting in the paint haunted Washington for large portions of the game. Pam Pack coach Allison Jones felt that her team did not match Southside’s passion.
“They came out with much higher intensity then we did,” Jones said. “They had to climb to get back in it, and then did.”
Beth Batchelor led the Pam Pack with 15 points, while Rachel Cantrell added six.
Jones, who has a guard-heavy roster, said she was a little surprised that her team failed to handle the press.
“I felt like we were experienced enough to handle that pressure, but it just didn’t happen tonight,” Jones said. “They did a good job of forcing the tempo and we made some bad passes.”
Pam Pack slides
by Seahawks
Southside made a bid for upset in the boys’ match but fell short as Washington topped it 69-63 in both team’s season opener.
The Seahawks (0-1) played strong in the fourth quarter, out-scoring the Pam Pack 22-15 to make it close, but Washington’s Brandon Tripp made sure there would not be a sweep.
Tripp scored eight of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to ensure a Pam Pack (1-0) victory.
Washington coach Joe Lawrence was happy to earn a win in the team’s first game.
“Any time you can get a win that’s great,” Lawrence said. “I thought our guys played with a lot of energy, I thought our guys got after it on both ends of the floor. You can’t really coach effort, but I thought we had a good effort tonight.”
Washington’s Taraja Langley and Chris Albritton were a part of that good effort as they added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Langley scored nine points during a crucial 22-8 third-quarter run by the Pam Pack that would prove to be the difference in the game.
“We were missing a lot of shots in the first half,” Lake said. “But we in the third we just started making some of them. We also challenged them to pick it up instead of sitting here playing back-and-forth basketball.”
Southside was led by forward Curtis Myers, who had a team-high 15 points and played hard in the paint.
Seahawks coach Dwayne White said he was pleased with the way his squad played against the bigger 3-A Pam Pack.
“To be quite honest I’m proud of them,” White said. “We have had one practice as team which is why they looked a little ragged out there. These guys came out and played on pure heart and will to win.”
These two teams will meet again on Tuesday when the conclude their home-and-home series at Southside.”
Girls game
Southside 10 6 14 24 — 54
Washington 10 13 9 8 — 40
Seahawks (54)
Bogart 2, Katisha Hyman 18, Cradle 8, Edwards 2, Chante Painter 12, Ruffin 7, Jones 2, Thomas 1, Avery 2.
Pam Pack (40)
Beth Batchelor 15, Hines 2, Cantrell 6, Stowe 7, McIver 4, Hiatt 2, Griffin 4.
Boys game
Southside 7 26 8 22 — 63
Washington 14 18 22 15 — 69
Seahawks (63)
Williams 5, Curtis Myers 15, Murray 3, Ruffin 9, Green 2, Grice 4, Reddick 2, Benston 7, Selby 2, Aaron 4, Blount 3.
Pam Pack (69)
Chance 2, Chris Albritton 15, Taraja Langley 16, Graham 2, Harris 6, Brandon Tripp 18, Conner 2, O’Neal 3, Randell 2, L. Harris 2.