BELHAVEN — Reagan Glass’ jumper from the wing gave Terra Ceia a 19-16 lead near the end of the first half, but Pungo wrapped up the second with three-straight baskets to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in a 59-43 win.

 

Tuesday’s final regular-season clash between the Lady Knights and Lady Raiders was a game of runs, but it was that spurt that proved decisive. Pungo, after taking a 22-19 lead into halftime, continued to surge in the third quarter. Macy Morgan spearheaded a 10-0 spurt that gave the hosts a 31-19 lead.

“I thought we started off really slow, but I think a lot of that had to do with our senior night,” Pungo coach Melanie Sawyer said. “Once we started getting in our flow, the man-to-man really stopped them. Catherine (Meijer) is a really tough player. With her height, she knows how to use it really well.”

 

Meijer was able to get opportunities in the post, and excelled on the boards, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Lady Raiders from earning the regular-season series sweep.

“We felt we had control of the game in the first half,” Terra Ceia coach Verm Parsons said. “We just wanted them to continue playing as they did in the first half. Unfortunately, we weren’t getting our shots and Pungo played a very good game. Congratulations to them.”

Terra Ceia went nearly four minutes without a point in the third. Glass went 2-for-2 on a trip to the free-throw line. Ashley James and Alice Van Staalduinen each got layups, too, to help bring the Lady Knights within four, 31-27.

Four points was as close as they would get, though. Meijer was the only Terra Ceia player to score in the fourth until the last minute. Her work kept the visitors within three possessions, but Pungo got to the charity stripe seven times down the stretch to salt the game away.

“We wanted to make somebody else do the scoring for them,” Sawyer said of Meijer getting the majority of Terra Ceia’s points in the fourth. “They look for her a lot. Who wouldn’t with her height? Our girls did a good job containing. Our word of the year is containment. We just keep everyone else contained.”

Terra Ceia is done until the conference tournament. Pungo wraps up its regular season Thursday at Lawrence Academy. The Lady Raiders now own two victories over their rivals, and may see them a third time come the postseason.