Chance Short
chance.short@irontontribune.com

SOUTH POINT — Maddie Ward feels “relieved” after scoring her 1,000th point on Thursday night as a Chesapeake Panther in their win over the South Point Lady Pointers.
Chesapeake head coach Chris Ball may have had the same feeling of relief as Ward’s bucket in the fourth quarter gave the Lady Panthers their first lead of the game.
“I just felt that pressure on me the whole game. Now that it’s over, I feel relieved,” said Ward after her accomplishment.
The senior posted a game high 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds as well to uplift the Lady Panthers over South Point 29-23. She needed 17 points entering the game to score 1,000 career points.
“Maddie getting her 1,000th point tonight was a huge accomplishment and I give her dad (Josh Ward, assistant coach) the credit. They spend lots of time in the gym together and her mom is a big influence as well,” added Ball.
South Point (6-10, 5-8) had plans of spoiling the celebration and led the entire game until the 6:41 mark of the fourth quarter. They outrebounded the Lady Panthers, but turnovers proved to be the difference as they were guilty of 19 giveaways.
After taking a 10-7 first quarter lead for the Lady Pointers, Chesapeake got in their full court press and trailed by just a point heading into the half, 16-15.
Ward scored all 7 points in the third quarter for the Lady Panthers, but Emma Saddler retaliated with 5 points for South Point as the two teams knotted the third quarter.
“I thought we were a bit more opportunistic in the fourth quarter, but I thought for three quarters we played too slow. Give credit to South Point’s defense in that 2-3 zone, they really packed it in. Overall, we did just enough to win,” explained Ball.
Chesapeake (13-6, 9-5) held South Point scoreless in the final quarter. Kandace Pauley and Emily Duncan went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minutes to outscore and take the win from the Lady Pointers.
Saddler led South Point with 9 points and 6 rebounds.
Chesapeake will travel to River Valley on Saturday and South Point visits to Fairfield.
Chesapeake 7 8 7 7 = 29
South Point 10 6 7 0 = 23
CHESAPEAKE (13-6, 9-5): Kandace Pauley 0 0 2-2 2, Blake Anderson 0 0 5-6 5, Maddie Ward 4 2 4-9 18, Emily Duncan 1 0 2-2 4. Totals: 5 2 13-19 29. Rebounds: 18 (Ward 7). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 7. Fouled out: none.
SOUTH POINT (6-10, 5-8): Camille Hall 1 0 2-2 4, Sarah Roach 1 0 0-0 2, Sidnea Belville 1 0 0-0 2, Sarah Mitchell 1 1 1-2 6, Emma Saddler 4 0 1-5 9. Totals: 8 1 4-9 23. Rebounds: 26 (Hall 9, Mitchell 7). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: none.