Mary Ellen Williams finished what Amber Howard started, which was a game-changing Baylor scoring run midway through the first half Tuesday night. The Lady Raiders went on for a 51-32 semifinal victory over Chattanooga Christian in the sixth Times Free Press Best of Preps basketball tournament.
Action at Arts & Sciences concludes today with girls’ play wrapping up with the title game between Baylor (8-3) and GPS (7-0) at 7 p.m. CCS (8-3) plays Tyner for third place at 4.
The score was 5-5 before Howard made a 3-point shot from the left corner and followed that with two free throws with 3:33 to go in the first quarter. By the time Williams scored her seventh consecutive point on a drive from the right wing 3:23 before halftime, the Lady Raiders’ 14-2 run led to a 19-7 advantage.
The Lady Chargers got a basket inside by Shelby Brendle before Presley Watson drove for a layup that brought the deficit down to eight. But once Williams made an ensuing 3-pointer, Baylor held a double-digit lead the rest of the way, first topping 20 at 40-19.
“We had a walk-through before the game,” CCS coach Pam Hindman said. “We talked about a game plan, then didn’t execute one thing we talked about. We’re supposed to have leaders. We didn’t play defense. We’re so off kilter right now. I’m very disappointed, very discouraged.”