CHESAPEAKE - When it came down to crunch time, the South Point Lady Pointers wore them down.

Trailing by five points heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Pointers maintained their relentless defensive pressure as they rallied past the Chesapeake Lady Panthers 45-36 in a key Ohio Valley Conference game Thursday.

"We stuck with our defense and finally wore them down," Lady Pointers coach Dave Adams said. "We guarded them well in the fourth quarter."

South Point is now 5-9 overall but tied Chesapeake for second place in the OVC at 4-2. The Lady Panthers fell to 8-8 and 4-2.

"We put ourselves in position that if we win out, the worst we can do is tie. It's up to us," Adams said.

Chesapeake coach Chad Belville was disappointed in his team's poor shooting from close range.

"We must have missed 20 shots around the basket, mostly in the fourth quarter. That was the difference. If we just make our shots in the paint, we win the game," Belville said.

"But give the credit to South Point. They hit the glass the fourth quarter, got penetration and we put them at the line."

Alisha Bridges and Latisha Koukos did most of the board work. Bridges had 10 rebounds to go with 14 points and Koukos had 12 points and eight rebounds.

"Bridges played really well for us and hit some big free throws," Adams said. "We had only eight turnovers and that was a key for us, and we hit some free throws down the stretch."

Brittany Boyle had 12 points and Lisa Perry nine points and six assists for Chesapeake. Jennifer Rice grabbed eight rebounds and Alysson Baise six.

Koukos scored eight points as South Point took a 14-10 first quarter lead.

Chesapeake limited South Point to five points in the second quarter and went ahead 22-19 at the half.

Boyle hit a 3-pointer while Noelle Wood, Joanna Delimpo, and Sara Rucker all scored inside as the Chesapeake lead went to 34-29.

But then came the fourth quarter.

South Point held Chesapeake to two points and converted 10 of 17 foul shots. Bridges had 10 of her points, including six free throws.

In the reserve game, South Point (4-2 OVC) won 23-13 as Missy Wheeler scored nine points, Vanessa Rogers six, and Ashley Porter five. Christi Henson and Sara Rucker scored four each for Chesapeake.

South Point1451016-45

Chesapeake1012122-36

SOUTH POINT (5-9, 4-2):

Alisha Bridges 3 0 8-16 14, Jessi Craft 3 0 1-2 7, Latisha Koukos 4 0 4-6 12, Elisha Joyce 0 0 0-0 0, Whitney Woody 0 0 0-0 0, Summer Malone 0 0 3-4 3, Amy Frasure 1 0 3-6 5, Jamie Moore 2 0 0-0 4. Totals: 13

0

19-34

45. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 8-25=33 (Bridges 12, Koukos 8). Turnovers: 8.

CHESAPEAKE (8-8, 4-2):

Candace Dickerson 0 1 0-0 3, Lisa Perry 4 0 1-3 9, Veronica Perko 0 0 0-0 0, Brittany Boyle 0 4 0-0 12, Noelle Wood 2 0 0-0 4, Alysson Baise 0 0 0-0 0, Joy Mayenchein 1 0 0-0 2, Joanna Delimpo 2 0 0-0 4, Rice 0 0 0-0 0, Sara Rucker 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 10

5

1-3

36. Fouls: 26. Fouled out: Boyle, Rice. Rebounds: 31 (Rice 8, Baise 6). Assists: 10 (Perry 6). Turnovers: 8. Steals: 5.