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.

The Lady Patriots actually outrebounded JIC 10-9 in the first half, but that statistic would prove to be a mirage as balls that Wardlaw ran down easily in the first half nearly all went the other way in the second half – with many earning JIC repeat possessions, leading to easy hoops under the basket by post players Chelsea Bentz and Elizabeth Horne.

Both teams also had 17 turnovers, a statistic the Lady Patriots had hoped to dominate.

Wardlaw utilized just its five starters the entire way and head coach Jim Lisenby said fatigue could have been a factor.

“With fatigue there may have been some of that, but I think it was more mental fatigue than physical,” he said. “We had a few mental lapses that we don’t normally have, but it was a game played between two good teams. We had some possessions where we didn’t have the crisp passing that we usually have, but I was really proud of the defense we played.”

Still, the Lady Patriots hung tough, led by the clutch shooting of Easler and Rearden.

The Lady Lions had pushed ahead 23-20 after a 9-0 run to retake the lead near the end of the third quarter. But long jumpers by Easler, a three-pointer from Rearden and the only fastbreak layup of the game for the Lady Patriots by Baynham handed Wardlaw back the lead at 29-28. Unfortunately, it was their last lead of the game.

James Island Christian came right back on back-to-back baskets by Bentz and Shelbi Bottoms before Baynham missed a pair of free throws for Wardlaw.

The teams traded buckets by Bottoms and Easler and the Lady Patriots found themselves down by three points at 36-33 with under a minute to go in the ballgame. Rearden nearly bottomed a huge heave from behind the arc, but the shot went just wide and Wardlaw had to foul as the seconds wound down toward the final buzzer.

Gochnauer connected on one of two foul shots with around 6 seconds left in the game, but the Lady Patriots could not get a shot off before the horn sounded.

Wardlaw, which is now 8-2 in girl’s state title games, ends the season at 18-6, while James Island Christian moved to 25-2 with the victory.

Rearden led the way for the Lady Patriots with a game-high 14 points, with Easler adding 10 points. The Lady Lions, which captured the school’s first-ever title in girls basketball with the win, were paced by Bottoms with 11 points and Bentz with 10 points.

GAME NOTES: The two teams were meeting in their second consecutive title game after Wardlaw won last year’s meeting handily by 19 points. Of the 10 starters on both teams, seven will return next season, making a “rubber match” next season a definite possibility.

JAMES ISLAND CHRISTIAN 38, WARDLAW ACA. 33

SCISA Class A Girls State Championship Game

JAMES ISLAND CHRISTIAN (38) – Shelbi Bottoms 11, Jamie Duggan 4, Katelyn Gochnauer 9, Chelsea Bentz 10, Elizabeth Horne 4. Totals: 16 5-10 38.

WARDLAW ACA. (33) – Kara Beck 5, Katelyn Rearden 14, Gina Easler 10, Peyton Baynham 4. Totals 13 3-6 33.

James Island Christian –    6    6    11    15    --    38
Wardlaw Aca.        --    2    12     8    11    --    33  
 
3-point goals: James Island Christian 1 (Duggan 1); Wardlaw Aca. 2 (Rearden 2).