GALLIPOLIS - Divide and conquer.

After using their long-range shooting to spread the defense, the Chesapeake Lady Panthers then slipped through the cracks in the defense and edged the Gallipolis Blue Angels 45-44 Monday.

The Lady Panthers made eight 3-pointers including their first seven attempts, then held on for the season-opening win.

"Hitting those outside shots was big for us," Lady Panthers coach Chad Belville said. "We brought them out of their zone and forced them to play man. That got them tired and caused them to foul."

Lisa Perry had 20 points, five assists and three steals for Chesapeake. Brittany Boyle added 13 points, Jennifer Rice six rebounds and Noelle Wood five rebounds and four steals.

Kari Adkins had 11 points and Kari James 10 for the Blue Angels.

Gallipolis held a 4-2 lead when Perry made two 3-pointers and Boyle and Joy Mayenchein one each as Chesapeake came back to take a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Perry, who had 14 points the first half, hit two more long shots and Boyle one to extend the lead to 28-25 at the half.

"Give credit to our girls. They hit some shots early," Belville said.

Gallipolis came out and went up 32-30 to start the third quarter. Chesapeake then held Gallipolis scoreless the final four minutes of the quarter and came back to take a 35-32 lead at the end of the quarter.

"Coming back was a sign of our maturity. We challenged the girls to step up and play," Belville said.

Jackie Wamsley hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 44-44 with 20 seconds left. Perry drove the length of the floor and was fouled with nine seconds to play and sank one of two attempts.

But Gallipolis walked trying to set up a final shot and the Panthers were able to run out the clock.

"It was

a good high school game. We missed some free throws down the stretch. If we make those we have some breathing room," Belville said. "We did a good job of taking care of the ball, but we still have to work and get better."

Gallipolis was 9 of 11 from the line the first half but just 6 of 15 the second half.

"We've had four or five girls who have been pretty sick, and our style is up-tempo and play a lot of girls and wear people out. We had to play some girls a lot of minutes and they sucked it up," Lady Panthers coach Chad Belville said.

"For the first game of the season we did pretty well, and then going to their place and with the girls being sick, it was just a huge win for our program."

Chesapeake plays at Greenup County, Ky., Thursday.

Chesapeake1414710-45

Gallipolis1312712-44

CHESAPEAKE (1-0):

Candace Dickerson 1 0 0-0 2, Lisa Perry 2 4 4-9 20, Brittany Boyle 2 2 3-5 13, Noelle Wood 1 0 0-0 2, Alyson Baise 0 0 0-0 0, Joy Mayenchein 0 1 0-0 3, Joanna Delimpo 0 0 0-0 0, Jennifer Rice 2 0 1-2 5, Sarah Rucker 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8

7

8-16

45. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 4-20=24 (Rice 6, Wood 5). Steals: 11 (Wood 4, Perry 3). Assists: 8 (Perry 5). Turnovers: 15.

GALLIPOLIS (1-1):

Jackie Wamsley 0 1 2-3 5, Tiffany Sanders 0 0 0-0 0, Kari Adkins 4 0 3-9 11, Lindsay Caldwell 2 0 2-4 6, Kayla Perry 2 0 2-4 6, Katlin Maher 1 0 4-4 6, Sarah Cochran 0 0 0-0 0, Kari James 4 0 2-2 10. Totals: 13

1

15-26

44. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Adkins, Caldwell, Perry.