Senior Rae-Ana Cain sank a pair of go-ahead free throws with four seconds left in regulation to lift Tabb past Warhill, 46-44, on the road Monday night.
Cain, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, came up big throughout the fourth quarter for the Tigers, who used an 11-2 rally to overcome at six-point deficit at the start of the period.
After Cain calmly knocked down the two free throws, Warhill freshman point guard Kieran McClure, who led all scorers with 18 points in her first game back from sitting out two games with a concussion, got an open look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but her shot rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.
Tabb coach Amber Throckmorton said it was only fitting the game came down to the final possession.
“I feel like it’s like this each and every game,” Throckmorton said of playing Warhill. “It comes down to the wire more often than not. It’s a possession game, and we were fortunate enough to capitalize when we needed to.”
Lions coach Bingo Brungot agreed, saying the two teams are evenly matched.
“It seems like every game is like this,” he said. “Tonight the difference was we weren’t patient in the second half and missed out on way too many points in the paint.”
McClure, who would be the front runner for Bay Rivers District Rookie of the Year should such award exist, showed her touch from long range and ability to create off the dribble in the first quarter as Warhill jumped out to a 12-8 lead.
Tabb, though, got a huge lift off the bench from Madison Clemons, who sparked a 12-4 run to open the second quarter with a 3-pointer and ended it with back-to-back treys from the corner as the Tigers took a one-point (22-21) lead into halftime.
“That was huge,” Throckmorton said of the boost Clemens gave her squad during the second quarter.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm to start the second as the early stages of the third quarter was plagued with poor shooting and turnovers.
The two teams combined to score just nine points during the first five-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter before Warhill closed the period with a 6-0 run. After McClure’s steal and layup with 30 seconds left in the third, Tabb turned it over, allowing Tatyana Epps to knock down a pair of free throws on the other end to give the Lions a 32-28 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
All of the momentum seemed to be in the home team’s favor after Jewel Walters, who also played exceptional defense holding Clemens scoreless during the second half, hauled in an offensive rebound and converted the stick-back to put Warhill ahead 34-28 to start the fourth
But the Tigers answered with eight quick points thanks to back-to-back 3s from Erin Fenton and Tamia Smith (13 points) and a Cain layup to take a 36-34 lead.
Warhill fell into an 0-8 shooting spell and committed four turnovers, which allowed Tabb’s lead to grow to 42-36 on Imani Jarmon’s free-throw line jumper. The Lions clawed their way back to within two after back-to-back aggressive post plays from Kasey Grainer (9 points, five rebounds) and a pull-up 3 by Grainer with 1:15 left on the clock.
Still up by two, 44-42, Tabb had possession with 28 seconds left on the clock but committed a costly turnover after an errant pass sailed out of bounds.
The Lions called a timeout and executed a well-designed set play as McClure sneaked a bounce pass to a cutting Keely Rochard for the game-tying layup with 10 seconds remaining.
On Tabb’s ensuing possession, Fenton dribbled the length of the court before finding Cain on the post, who was fouled on her way up for two.
“When I went to the [free-throw] line, the students were trying to mess me up, so I just had to concentrate and make the shot,” Cain said.
After Cain swished both attempts with four ticks left on the clock, McClure’s shot from 3-point land missed as time expired.
“Our fight was good tonight,” Brungot said. “We’re a young team that continues to get better each night. They’ll learn from this and be better [Tuesday] against Smithfield.”
Tabb 46 Warhill 44
Tabb- 8 14 6 18 – 46
Warhill- 12 9 11 12 – 44
Tabb (6-7, 6-4 BRD)- Smith 13, Cain 11, Jarmon 7, Clemons 9, Fenton 3, Dadez 2, Macfarlane 1. Totals 14 11-12; 46.
Warhill (2-7, 2-7 BRD)- McClure 18, Grainer 9, Rochard 6, Epps 4, Cormier 3, Williams 2, Elliot 2. Totals 17 10-16; 44.
