Powerful Chiefs stymie Mavericks

FAIRFAX — Through three quarters of the VIS Division II semifinals, Carlisle held a lead over Miller just once — late in the second quarter, a Carlisle one-point edge was immediately answered by a Miller bucket the next possession.

In the fourth, however, Carlisle took the advantage once more, and it would be the final lead change of the afternoon. The defending champions Lady Chiefs held the Lady Mavericks to just four points through the first seven minutes of the fourth period of a 53-45 victory on Friday at Paul VI Catholic High School.

“Our girls just dug down deep,” Carlisle coach Tony Jones said.

Miller had defeated Carlisle in their previous matchup by a 16-point margin at Carlisle Jan. 16, and were granted another win Feb. 13 after Carlisle forfeited to Miller because of injuries.

It appeared that Miller would once again reign over Carlisle Friday until the Lady Chiefs dominated the fourth quarter.

“We stopped playing [in the fourth quarter],” forward Christine Nyobe said.

The Lady Mavericks burst out to a 10-0 lead while forcing five turnovers to start the game. The Lady Chiefs, however, did not turn the ball over for the rest of the quarter and knocked down three of their next five field goals, working the deficit to a manageable five-point margin at the end of the quarter.

Jones noted that a near-sleepless night that followed his team’s victory over Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot in the quarterfinals Thursday night likely contributed to the sluggish start Friday.

It was Miller’s seniors, particularly guard Jaime Fleming, that kept the team in the lead most of the afternoon. Fleming dropped 18 points through the first three quarters, including four three-point field goals as Miller took a 39-35 lead going into the fourth.

Fleming, however, was held scoreless in the fourth as the Lady Mavericks shot just 3 of 12 from the field in the quarter.

“We decided we were going to deny [Fleming] the shot and make somebody else win the game for them,” Jones said. “The other girls went a little cold on them, and that was the key.”

“That was a spot in the game when we couldn’t’ get a shot to go down,” said Miller coach James Braxton. “[Carlisle] made some shots and made some free throws. That’s just the game of basketball.”

Nyobe, also a senior, anchored the defense with two blocks and dominated the glass for Miller while adding 11 points of her own.

“[The seniors] played hard, and we wanted of course to make it to the next step, but hey, it doesn’t happen that way all the time,” Braxton said.

Senior point guard Alex Tamez also had a solid all-around performance in her final game, adding six points, three assists and two blocks.

It was Carlisle’s threesome of forward Janika Hunt, point guard Jelena Ciric, and forward Sha’tyia Hairston, however, who stole the show. Hunt’s 18 points led the Lady Chiefs, Hairston tacked on 16 points while battling down low with Nyobe, and Ciric was magnificent at point with 12 points and five assists.

Carlisle will look for its fifth state title in seven years today against StoneBridge.