GIRLS BASKETBALL Chaves returns, keys JFK past Maplewood

The previously-injured junior guard clinched the Eagles' 46-43 win.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WARREN -- Warren JFK High junior guard Alyssa Chaves missed most of the Eagles' first three games with an injury.
Monday night she returned to action and helped JFK defeat the previously-undefeated Rockets, 46-43, in a girls basketball game.
Chaves' basket with 19.1 seconds remaining in the game gave the Eagles a 44-43 lead. She then sank two free throws with 5.5 seconds to go to seal the win.
Maplewood (5-1) took a 39-38 lead with 6:40 remaining in the final period after trailing by as many as 12 points in the third frame.
The Rockets held the lead throughout the final minutes until Chaves' heroics.
Expectations
"We expect that out of Alyssa," said Warren JFK coach Denise Smith on the game-winning shots. "I expect her to run the offense and to come up with the big plays and she did it."
The Eagles (3-1) trailed 43-40 with 3:40 remaining before patiently working their offense.
The patience paid off as Katie Piaquando got an open shot to pull JFK to within a point.
Defenses went to work in the last few possessions for both teams before the Eagles got the ball with a minute to go and Chaves in control.
JFK calmly worked for the open shot which Chaves hit from just inside the top of the key.
"Our girls are really maturing as a team and understanding the game," Smith said. "They're looking to run [the] clock and get good shot selections."
Impressd by defense
Maplewood coach Mark Yoder was more impressed with JFK's defense.
"The only real scoring we were doing was from the foul line," he said.
"They're a real hard-nosed defensive team that gets up in your face and we had trouble with that."
The Rockets did get the best of the Eagles early as they jumped out to a 13-4 lead by connecting on 6-of-6 shots at the foul line.
But JFK's defense enabled the Eagles to get back in the game.
JFK went on a 17-0 run to grab a 21-13 second quarter lead. The Eagles held Maplewood to just six points in the period and opened up a 28-19 halftime lead.
"That cold spell hurt us a little bit," Yoder said. "But that isn't what lost us the game."
Critical turnovers
The Rockets made three critical turnovers in the waning minutes and failed to score in the game's final 3:40.
"We played lackadaisical at times," Smith said, "but we really picked it up in the fourth quarter and that made the difference."
Chaves led Kennedy with 14 points, but junior Aarika Knepp also had a big game, scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
For Maplewood, Jessica Schwartz scored 12 points while Stephanie Schwartz added 11. Jen Bell, who suffered a leg injury late in the game, finished with nine points.