Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PEDRO — Going outside helped the Chesapeake Lady Panthers go inside.

The Lady Panthers used their outside shooting to open up their inside game as they beat the Oak Hill Lady Oaks 52-42 on Sunday to win the Division III sectional title.

Kaylee Curry did the damage inside and Sydnee Hall and others did the perimeter work to key the win.

Curry had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Hall got 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lady Panthers (14-9).

Chesapeake shot 10-of-28 from the field in the first half including 3-of-8 from behind the arc.

“Kaylee has earned that attention with the way she can score inside and out. We know in most games they’re going to double down on her and really hover over her,” said Chesapeake coach Chris Ball.

“We need girls who can hit some shots and we did that today. We can do that. It’s nothing new. I’m proud of the girls. I felt overall it was an overall balanced attack by us on both ends of the court.”

Oak Hill (13-10) was just 15-of-53 from the field. The Lady Oaks — who rely on the 3-pointer — were only 5-of-21 from the long-range distance.

Abby Haislop scored 13 points and Merrill Melvin 10 to lead Oak Hill.

“We wanted to take away Haislop and we did a pretty good job. She’s such a great player and has been for the last four years. And we wanted to keep an eye on (Layne) Roseberry and make somebody else beat us,” said Ball.

Chesapeake got 3-pointers from Kelsey Curry and Natalee Hall in the first quarter to help draw the defense away from center Kaylee Curry.

The Lady Oaks were forced to extend their defense to guard the perimeter and Curry took advantage of the change to score 11 points in the second quarter as Chesapeake built a 31-19 halftime lead.

Haislop hit a 3-ball and a layup to start the second half to get Oak Hill with 33-24, but Kaylee Curry hit another trifecta for a 38-24 lead.

A foul shot by Kelsey Huff and a layup by Kaylee Curry extended the lead to 48-32 with 2:07 to play.

“We hit the boards pretty well, and not just our post players but our guards as well,” said Ball.

By winning its second straight sectional, Chesapeake will play Nelsonville-York at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, in the Waverly Downtown Arena.

“I’m very happy and proud for our entire team, especially our seniors Kelsey Curry and Sydnee Hall. Before they started high school, Chesapeake had won only two sectional titles ever, and they’ve won three,” said Ball.

Chesapeake 13 18 10 11 = 52

Oak Hill 9 10 9 14 = 42

CHESAPEAKE (14-9): Kelsey Curry 0 1 1-2 4, Atiya Spaulding 1 0 0-0 2, Kaylee Curry 5 2 5-6 21, Sydnee Hall 2 0 8-12 12, Natalee Hall 0 1 2-4 5, Bailey Mills 1 0 0-0 2, Kelsey Huff 2 0 1-3 5, Brooke Webb 0 0 0-0 0, Jozy Jones 0 0 1-2 1. Totals: 15-42 18-29 52. 3-point goals: 4-9. Rebounds: 11-off. 30-def. = 41 (Ka. Curry 13, S. Hall 8, N. Hall 7). Team rebounds: 3. Assists: 3 (N. Hall 2). Steals: 6 (S.Hall 3). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.

OAK HILL (13-10): McKaile Cade 3 1 0-0 9, Layne Roseberry 0 1 0-0 3, Merrill Melvin 1 2 2-4 10, Abby Haislop 3 1 4-7 13, Macy Melvin 3 0 1-2 7, Carlee Dempsey 0 0 0-0 0, Kassidy Wright 0 0 0-0 0, Miranda Haggerty 0 0 0-0 0, Bailey Ward 0 0 0-0 0, Shae Hammond 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-53 7-13 42. 3-point goals: 5-21. Rebounds: 11-off. 21-def. = 32 (Me. Melvin 12, Haislop 6, Ma. Melvin 6). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Roseberry (4th 0:54).