Feb 4, 2003 By Jim Downey 3 min read

Peters Township coach Dave Welsch unveiled his David Copperfield defense in the second half Monday. The Lady Indians made Uniontown’s top scorer Jocelyn Chandler disappear in the final 16 minutes.

Chandler scored 22 points in the first half, but was held to only two in the final 16 minutes as Peters Township kept its Section 2-AAAA playoff hopes alive with a 63-48 road victory.

“We challenged them in the locker room at halftime. We told the seniors they had to get into it right now,” Welsch said of the strong second half.

“We know Uniontown is a spurt team. (Emily) Fisher, (Jill) Monahan and (Jocelyn) Chandler can hit 3-pointers. They won’t go away. I didn’t think the momentum switched to us until there was 1:30 left in the game.”

The Lady Indians went to a man-to-man with a floater in the lane. Welsch switched to a 1-3-1 zone in the fourth quarter to confuse the Lady Red Raiders and deny any more runs.

“They took the ball out of Jocelyn’s hands. They switched to a 1-3-1 (zone). That hurt us a little bit. Give them credit. They’re a good team,” Uniontown girls coach Jason Winfrey said.

The first half was a game of spurts, with each team responding to the other’s run. Uniontown made the first run of the game after Peters Township scored first. Behind Chandler’s 15 points, the Lady Red Raiders outscored the visitors, 17-8, in the final seven minutes for a 17-10 quarter lead.

Peters Township’s turn began on the first possession of the second quarter, spurred by point guard Laura Calabrese’s 3-pointer. Leigh Sherratt hit another 3-pointer, then added a fast break layup after a steal. Calabrese capped the 10-0 run with a pair of free throws.

Chandler sparked a Uniontown run in the final 3:28 of the first half when she completed a three-point play. The junior scored seven points in the run, capped when Emily Fisher hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left for a 31-24 lead.

With Chandler held to two points in the third quarter, Uniontown managed to hold on to the lead until Sherratt hit a 3-pointer at the 2:58 mark for a 37-36 lead. The two teams exchanged leads until they settled for a 41-41 tie after three quarters.

Peters Township came out of the gate fast, running off eight unanswered points to start the quarter. Emily Fisher answered with a 3-pointer at 5:57, but Calabrese handled the Uniontown pressure to have a hand in the final 12-2 run.

Calabrese hit a driving layup for a 53-46 lead, then she found Jackie Schaefer open and fed Katie Murphy for three consecutive layups.

Sherratt hit three 3-pointers on her way to a team-high 19 points. Calabrese scored 18 and Murphy was also in double figures with 11.

The victory keeps the Lady Indians afloat in the playoff race. Peters Township improves to 8-5 in the section and 14-8 overall.

Fisher was in double figures for Uniontown with 11 points. Winfrey lauded the opponents’ effort, but also praised his Lady Red Raiders play.

“Give Uniontown credit. They’ve had to adjust to different styles in the last two weeks. We had a couple of crucial turnovers. The girls worked hard. I have nothing to complain about.”

Uniontown (4-9, 11-11) closes the Section 2-AAAA season Thursday at Connellsville.