By MIKE ROSIER/Publisher

Published on Saturday, February 27, 2010 - 9:16am |

• Sports

SUMTER, S.C. – In a close game in which every offensive possession mattered, the Wardlaw Academy Lady Patriots gave away a few too many in a 38-33 loss to James Island Christian in the SCISA Class A title game held Saturday at the Sumter County Exhibition Center.

Tremendously outsized at each position by the larger, taller Lady Lions, two-time defending champ Wardlaw wanted to play an up-tempo game that played to their speed advantage.

But despite the fact that Wardlaw forced JIC into 14 first half turnovers, that sort of game never materialized, and the Lady Patriots found themselves slogging it out in the half court.

And for the better part of the game the Lady Patriots made it work anyway.

Wardlaw led by two at the half at 14-12 after carving up the JIC man-to-man defense for an 8-0 run by senior center Gina Easler, sophomore guard Katelyn Rearden, junior wing Peyton Baynham and junior forward Kara Beck, but the Lady Lions scored to end the second quarter on a jumper by Katelyn Gochnauer and remained in some variation of zone defense or full-court pressure the rest of the way.