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Allen’s big shot rescues East
Chelsea Bennett scores 12 in the Panthers’ win over Chaney
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
When the Chaney High girls basketball team used a stall to shave about four minutes off the first half and East was happy to oblige, overtime didn’t appear to be an option.
But in Thursday’s fourth quarter, the Cowgirls and Panthers caught fire for a seesaw contest that was tied with four minutes remaining.
With 65 seconds to go, East senior Marvelean Allen made the shot of the game, a 3-pointer that put the Panthers ahead for good in their 26-23 victory on their home court.
“That one fell at a key time for them,” Chaney coach Bernard Bolha said.
Chelsea Bennett hit two free throws down the stretch as the Panthers (7-13) defeated the Cowgirls (11-9) for the second time in preparation for Wednesday’s Division I sectional rematch at Alliance.
“Hopefully, third time is not the charm this time,” said East coach Tanisha Franklin, who added that the surge Allen gave the Panthers “gave us the momentum to carry out this victory. She made the shot that counted regardless of how many she missed before that.”
Bennett led the Panthers with 12 points, five rebounds, four steals, four assists and a blocked shot. Ashlyn Baker scored seven points while Allen finished with five.
“My shot was off all game, [but] I just that the next one was going to make it,” said Allen of the basket that gave the Panthers a 24-22 lead. “My coaches kept saying keep shooting and it’s going to fall.
“It felt so good because we had been so hyper,” Allen said. “We [finally] calmed down and made some good shots. Scoring three points [in the first half], that’s not what we do.”
Allen was referring to the Cowgirls’ 9-3 lead at halftime as both teams had key players in foul trouble.
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers outscored the Cowgirls 12-7.
“We got into a groove and started picking it up,” said Allen, who added that the Chaney-East rivalry still exists even without the City Series or Steel Valley Conference. “There’s a lot of talk between the two schools, there’s good competition between the two inner-city schools.”
Laniece McRae led the Cowgirls with nine points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and a steal.
“The last time we played, they did a lot of transition on us and they got on the glass,” said Bolha who was hoping to get a lead early to see how the Panthers would react. “They had our number both times, they pushed the ball with a nice transition so slowing it up was something I thought would help us, and it did.”
Neither team looked tournament-ready at the foul line. The Cowgirls made 9 of 18 attempts while the Panthers connected on 9 of 25 tries.
Bolha advised his players that the Panthers would come after them in the second half.
“I told them that if we miss our free throws in the second half, we were going to let them right back into the game,” Bolha said. “And that’s what happened ... we got caught up in the excitement a little bit, and they were slipping out in their transition.”
In their first game, the Panthers won, 58-43. Bolha said the Cowgirls showed much improvement in round two.
“We were a little more disciplined,” said Bolha, citing situational controlling the ball. “Throughout the year, we’ve gotten better.”