Clutch shots push PC past Sandusky, 49-47

SANDUSKY — The name Olivia equaled clutch on Monday night for Port Clinton. In the first half, it was Olivia Emerson. Down the stretch, it was Olivia Spencer. And Spencer added some tight final possession defense to ensure their efforts would be enough. "They both have really improved their shots since last year," PC coach Kevin Belden said. "... They both hit some big shots for us tonight." The junior Olivia duo combined for five 3-pointers and 22 points, joining with Da'Cariya Lanier's 16 points to lead Port Clinton to a physical, 49-47 win at Sandusky. Of the Olivias' eight made field goals, six either tied the score or took the lead. With the victory, PC improves to 2-1, all in back-and-forth games decided by single digits. "It was really nerve-racking, especially here where we had to have energy," Spencer said. "Everybody in the stands, on the bench, had that energy. On the court, you had to pick it up." Emerson saved Port Clinton early when no other shots were falling. PC fell behind 6-1, that point being an Emerson foul shot, before she drilled a right-corner triple on a feed from Christiona Fenton to stop the run. Then it was 10-4, before Maddy Cornell and Emerson each drained 3-pointers to tie it 10-10. "I just had to tell myself that I can make it," Emerson said. "The first few I threw up, I was just throwing them up and not getting myself ready and set. The ones that I started making, I got myself set and was like, I'm gonna make it." Sandusky went on a 6-1 run to close the first, though, with all six of those points from talented lefty Ra'Kiya Collier, who had eight of her 12 in the first quarter. But Emerson nailed another 3 less than 20 seconds into the second quarter to again turn the tide. "That really put us back in the game at the start," Spencer said of Emerson's shooting. "We knew coming in Monday night, we were gonna be slow, but her hitting those big shots put us back in it." Spencer's only first-half make was a big one, too, because Sandusky pulled ahead 19-16 before Spencer knocked one down from the left wing to tie it. Lanier scored on a jumper, then dished to Emerson for a lay-in, in the closing stages of the half to lead 26-25 at the intermission in a game that never got too far away from either squad. "It's really fun being in close games," Emerson said, "especially when we're on the good side of it." Spencer scored early in the second half, too, a confident take to the basket to break a 28-28 tie. The senior Lanier then converted a three-point play to make PC's lead 33-28 in the third, but Sandusky went on a 6-0 run capped by a strong take from Collier to go up 34-33. Lanier stifled that with a bucket, then assisted on a Spencer layup and made a free throw to go to the fourth up 38-34. Sandusky never went away. Khiya Rameau and Cassidy Stovall each had clutch hoops to pull within two points twice in the fourth. "I trust these girls," Sandusky coach John Winborn said. "These girls can make plays. I believe in each and every one of them, and you get in that situation, and they make plays for you. No moment is too big for these girls. They're not afraid of any moment." Spencer hit her final big shot after Stovall swished a jumper to make it 40-38 PC. The lanky junior didn't hesitate from the right wing and swished a 3-pointer to go up five. "I love to shoot," Spencer said. "I love the energy it feels when you finally make those shots." Fenton kept the lead at five with her only make of the night, a pure stroke from the left elbow. The 5-foot-7 junior made her contributions elsewhere, grabbing 11 rebounds. "Christiona did really well, second half she was fantastic on the weak side," Belden said. "She hit a big shot there, too, when it mattered." The Rameau sisters had one last spurt. Mae hit a 3, then Khiya scored twice in the lane to tie the game 47-47 with 1:15 left. "Hats off to them," Belden said. "They made shots." The game's final two points came on two split trips to the line from PC's Erieyonna Buckley, both times making the first. She finished with six points and 11 rebounds. Sandusky didn't attempt a shot in the final minute through a pair of timeouts as Port Clinton's defenders stuck too closely to their marks. "We knew that last minute when it was close, we had to bring out the best defense we've ever played," Spencer said. It ended up as a third close loss for Sandusky, which had its entire roster on the floor for the first time this season. "Right now, we keep on kicking and kicking at the door," Winborn said. "But we're there, we're right there." For Port Clinton, it was a much better feeling. PC had lost by a point in the final 10 seconds to Danbury last week, but this time around, they hit just enough clutch shots and put together just enough stops to enjoy the deep breath of relief that follows a narrow victory. "As I told the girls, nobody is gonna ask how many you won by," Belden said. "They're just gonna look at the amount of wins you have. Now you're sitting at 2-1. It felt good to get that one, and now a couple days off before we get Margaretta on Saturday." PORT CLINTON Christiona Fenton 1 0-2 2, Olivia Spencer 4 0-0 10, Maddy Cornell 1 0-0 3, Erieyonna Buckley 1 4-8 6, Da'Cariya Lanier 5 6-6 16, Olivia Emerson 4 1-2 12. TOTALS 16 11-18 49 SANDUSKY Cassidy Stovall 2 0-0 5, Mae Rameau 3 4-7 12, Devareya Rice 1 0-0 2, Ra'Kiya Collier 4 3-4 12, Shauntha Wilson 2 0-0 5, Denasia Coy 1 0-0 2, Khiya Rameau 3 0-2 6, Niyanna Larkins 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 17 7-13 47 Port Clinton 11 15 12 11 — 49Sandusky 16 9 9 13 — 47 3-point goals — Port Clinton 6 (Emerson 3, Spencer 2, Cornell 1); Sandusky 6 (M. Rameau 2, Stovall 1, Collier 1, Wilson 1, Larkins 1)