The Selma Times-Journal

Pressure defense by a young Central Christian Academy girl’s basketball team was one of the keys to capturing the 2007-08 area championship.

They beat the Sumter Academy Lady Rebels 57-37 Saturday night.

“We came out and played hard tonight,” said Darrell Walker, CCA’s coach. “We came out with some defensive intensity, and we made some key stops by getting back on defense.”

The one-two punch of Chelsea Perry, a freshman, and Kara Rawls, a seventh grader, was almost all of the offense the Lady Warriors needed. The two combined for 31 points in the contest.

With CCA holding a slim 21-11 lead after six minutes in the first quarter, the Lady Warriors went into a full-court pressure defense. It resulted in three straight steals that shut Sumter out the remainder of the quarter. It also started a 22-9 run that included all of the second quarter to build a 34-20 halftime lead.

The Lady Eagles did not record a field goal the entire second quarter. They went more than 10 minutes without a basket from the floor, including two minutes of the third quarter.

The Lady Warriors stood tall with a 43-28 lead after three quarters.

Perry and Rawls finished with 16 and 15 points, respectfully. Rawls was the tournament’s MVP. Erikka Caldwell chipped in nine points for CCA, whose record improves to 18-3.