Charlotte High School girls varsity basketball team outscored Mason 24-9 in the fourth quarter Tuesday, Jan. 15 en route to a 49-40 non-conference win. Charlotte coach Bill Newhouse said the coaching staff challenged the team at the end of the third quarter to play with more energy.
“We went with our full-court man pressure and told the girls if they see the ball, get after it,” Newhouse said. “It finally turned the game.”
Up until that point, Newhouse said his team played probably it’s poorest half of basketball all season. Charlotte scored just three points in the third quarter and saw a 22-21 halftime lead turn into a 31-25 deficit heading into the final eight minutes.
Charlotte senior Carly Scheblo scored 13 of her game-high 27 in the fourth quarter, leading the comeback charge. She added seven steals and six assists in the win. Ashley Friar was the only other Oriole to reach double figures, scoring 10 points including a pair of free throws late with the game still in doubt. Newhouse also credited senior Ashley Beck for making an adjustment in the team’s defense in the second half, and pulling down seven rebounds.
Newhouse said he was disappointed in his team’s effort through three quarters, but was quick to credit Mason’s game plan.
“Give them credit,” Newhouse said, “they took us out of things we normally do.”
Charlotte moved to 7-2 on the season heading into its scheduled Friday, Jan. 18 showdown with undefeated Portland. The Red Raiders and Orioles were tied atop the CAAC White standings at 4-0 heading into Friday’s game.
Newhouse said the team understood they are in for a tough challenge against Portland, which stands in the way of Charlotte’s main goal for the season — winning the conference.
“Our challenge will be to not make any assumptions based on what happened in the districts last year,” Newhouse said of Charlotte’s district semi-final win over Portland last season. “It helps that we know quite a bit about them, but they do have some different personnel that we’ll have to prepare for.”
The Orioles play two games on the road next week, traveling to Battle Creek Pennfield on Tuesday, Jan. 22 and Lansing Catholic Central on Friday, Jan. 25.
CHS boys defeat Sexton in 59-55 thriller
Brennan Griffith’s layup with 6 seconds remaining put Charlotte up for good Friday, Jan. 11, as the Orioles overcame a 5-point deficit late against Lansing Sexton to win 59-55.
Charlotte junior Justin Bates tied the game at 55 with 15 seconds left when he nailed a three-pointer at the top of the key. Sexton’s coach Steve Finnamore called timeout to set up the the Big Reds final play. The Orioles defense, however made it tough to inbound the ball and Griffith was able to pick off the inbounds pass and race to the other end for the game-winning bucket.
