The Pillow Academy girls basketball team christened the newly-named Durwin Carpenter Court with a 65-55 victory over visiting Hartfield Academy on Friday night.
The Lady Mustangs (9-3) started clicking in the first quarter after Julia Love Lyon knocked down an early 3-pointer. They took three charges in the first quarter alone, using stout defense and crisp passing to claim a 16-8 lead after the opening frame.
The Lady Hawks (11-4) battled back in the second quarter, though, taking advantage of some sloppy passing by Pillow and scoring the first eight points of the period to tie the game at 16-16.
“We got a little bit tired from going back and forth,” Lyon said. “They started to out-run us on fast breaks. But we started to catch up in the second half.”
With the offense struggling, the Lady Mustangs turned to their bench for a spark. Freshman Avery Howard scored five points and junior Dia Chawla added four to help Pillow keep pace for the rest of a back-and-forth quarter featuring 13 ties or lead changes. The Lady Mustangs ultimately took a 29-26 edge entering the locker room at halftime.
“They did very well coming in when we needed them and finishing their shots when we weren’t,” Lyon said. “Dia made some really great plays finishing, and so did Avery.”
Hartfield scored the first six points of the third quarter to take a 32-29 lead, but Pillow had a response for each rally. A corner 3-pointer by Anna Taylor Hudson highlighted a 15-4 run that gave the Lady Mustangs a 44-36 advantage heading into the final frame.
The Lady Hawks climbed back into contention down the stretch as Mia Wheeler (game-high 19 points, nine rebounds) converted a layup to put Hartfield up 54-53 with two minutes remaining. But Wheeler fouled out on the ensuing possession, and Pillow outscored the Lady Hawks 12-1 over the final minutes without Hartfield’s best inside presence on the floor.
“She was a very, very good and aggressive player,” Lyon said of Wheeler. “She was good at posting up and a hard player to guard.”
Kaylee Jones (team-high 13 points, eight rebounds) was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line in crunch time and Lyon (eight points) helped clinch the win with a steal and dish to Hudson (11 points) for the and-1 finish in transition. Caroline Brock also finished with 11 points for the Lady Mustangs, who return to action Tuesday against Oxford.
• JV sweeps Hartfield: The Mustangs’ JV squad won a 49-48 thriller thanks to a buzzer beater by freshman Charlie Robbins, who finished with 19 points. Cameron Lee pitched in 18 points for Pillow (6-1).
In the Lady Mustangs’ JV matchup, Avery Howard racked up 21 points, 12 boards, six steals and four blocks to lead undefeated Pillow (10-0) to a 43-37 victory over the Lady Hawks.
• Contact Riley Overend at 581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @OverendOut on Twitter.
