Carter sisters lead South Range win

They led a big third quarter run in the 57-44 win over Crestview.

By ERIC HAMILTON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBIANA — After watching their team waste one double-digit lead against Crestview, South Range sisters Autumn and Caitlin Carter weren’t about to let it happen again.

The duo combined for 12 points during the Raiders’ 14-0 spurt in the third quarter and South Range survived another Crestview run in the four quarter to earn a key 57-44 ITCL Tier One road victory Thursday night.

“We knew we had to get our lead back in the third quarter,” said Autumn Carter, who scored a team-high 22 points. “We picked up the intensity and got the job done. Everyone scored tonight and stepped it up.”

The Rebels had battled back from a 10-0 deficit to take their first lead of the game (33-32) on a 3-point play by freshman Shanelle Davner with 5:47 left in the third quarter.

South Range responded by holding Crestview scoreless the rest of the quarter. Offensively, Caitlin Carter sparked the Raiders’ scoring run with a pair of 3-pointers, while Autumn scored three times on drives to the basket.

“I was just feeling it before the game tonight,” said Caitlin. “Really the key was our passing. Our teammates really helped by reversing the ball and getting us open shots. When we’re passing well, it makes the defense weak on one side and leaves us wide open shots.”

The Raiders (12-1, 7-0 ITCL Tier 1) took advantage of their shot opportunities by converting 22-of-42 attempts. Crestview connected on just 16-of-58 fielders.

The game had the look of a rout early on as South Range bolted out to a 10-0 advantage in the first four minutes.

But Crestview (9-5, 4-4) rallied in the second quarter with a 16-8 jaunt to get back into the contest. Chelsea Bowker’s 3-pointer with 40 seconds left before intermission trimmed the deficit to 26-24.

After the second big spurt by South Range gave it a 46-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter, Bowker and the Rebels again fought back.

Bowker, who led Crestview with 22 points, scored nine straight points to get her team within 46-42 at the 5:31 mark.

Autumn Carter completed a 3-point play with 4:18 left to pad the lead to 49-42 and the advantage ballooned to 13 down the stretch.

“Bowker is a great player,” said South Range coach Matt Reel. “You can’t stop her, but you hope to contain her. A key for us tonight was [Alicia] Withers, who did a pretty good job one-on-one with Bowker and really made her work for her points.

“We knew Crestview would make some runs, but we just had to limit the scope of those runs. Autumn and Caitlin obviously were big for us, but Patty [Schuster] and Abby [Schuler] and everyone else stepped up for us. Our young kids are getting more and more comfortable making plays.”

South Range’s balanced scoring attack proved too much for Crestview. Autumn Carter led the way with 22 points. Caitlin Carter added 12, while Schuster (11) and Schuler (eight) provided backup.

Only four players scored for the Rebels.

At the halfway point of the ITCL season, South Range leads Lisbon and United by two games. Despite the cushion, Reel is preparing his team for a tough stretch run.

“We know we don’t have anything locked up yet,” said Reel. “We know that the real test will come in the second half when we have a lot of away games. We just have to keep getting better every day.”