Unlike the previous night against Williams, there was no early game drought for the Orange Women’s Basketball team against Eastern Alamance.
Just a late one.
After leading 15-6 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Panthers shot only 17% in the second half and fell to the Eagles 43-35 in the semifinals of the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Tournament in Mebane on Friday night.
Autumn Self paced the Eagles (6-4) with 13, while center Erin Blueford had ten. Eastern Alamance will face Leesville Road for the women’s championship on Saturday.
Orange (4-7) sophomore Lauren Cates had 13, including three 3-pointers in the opening five minutes. However, Orange only scored five field goals in the final three quarters. Janea Myers finished with eleven.
The Panthers will face Northern Durham on Saturday in the third place game at 3.
“Down the stretch, we had it hard offensively, “ said Orange Coach B.J. Condron, who led the Panthers to the 2016 Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Championship. “We got a little bit tighter. Eastern did a great job playing defense. They played a sagging man-to-man, making us shoot outside. We didn’t shoot that great.”
Grace Dively rattled in a 12-footer to open the 2nd half, tying the game at 21. But it was the only tie for the rest of the game. Self responded with a three-pointer over Cates on Eastern’s next possession.
Orange shot only 2-of-8 from the field in the third quarter and trailed 32-24.
The Eagles dominated the glass during the second half, pulling down eight offensive rebounds. Of the 17 rebounds Orange was credited with in the 2nd half, five were team rebounds, meaning they came off missed shots that went out of bounds.
“The two girls they had in the low post were a big difference,” said Condron. “They were both so physical. That was a big factor in the game.”
Janea Myers provided a spark in the fourth quarter, knocking down Orange’s only 3-pointer in the second half, then canned a 15-footer with 4:45 remaining to narrow the Eastern lead to 32-30. It was the only time in the second half when Orange scored on consecutive possessions.
Eastern reeled off six in a row behind a lay-in from Buford off an entry pass from Adela Morrison. On the next trip down, Self was fouled outside the arc by Cates and sank all three free throws.
Cates, who scored eleven points in the first quarter, was held to two for the rest of the game.
“I think she tried to force a few things but it just didn’t come for her,” said Condron. “That’s how it is with shooters. Sometimes they’re on and sometimes they’re off.”