Jermaine Bigham turned his back from the action and pumped his fist. Olivia Peluso let out a powerful scream. The celebration was on Monday at May River after the Sharks’ girls basketball team claimed a spot in the Class 3A Lower State final with a hard-fought 63-55 win over fourth-ranked Manning.
A quartet of seniors led the way — Emma Peluso scored 18 points, Chynna Sneed had 13, Gracyn Drury contributed 12, and Olivia Peluso added 10 — as the Sharks held off a second-half charge from the Monarchs to advance into uncharted territory for the fourth-year program.
“There are six of us, and we really don’t want the game to be our last, so we’re giving it all we have each and every game, no matter what it takes,” Emma Peluso said. “We’ve been giving it everything we’ve got these four years.”
It took everything they had to get the job done Monday.
The Sharks frustrated the Monarchs early, building a 16-8 lead after one quarter and holding all-state post player Myisha Smiling to one field goal and four points in the first half. Meanwhile, May River’s all-state player thrived, as Emma Peluso scored 12 of her team-high 18 points while leading the Sharks to a 36-22 halftime advantage.
The Monarchs finally heated up in the third quarter, as La’tavius Wilson scored half of her team-high 18 points in the period, Smiling got more involved in the offense, and Tajabreonca Dow drained a pair of 3-pointers to help Manning claw within 49-45 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Monarchs’ press was flustering May River’s usually reliable guards, leading to one easy bucket after another as the Sharks’ comfortable 14-point halftime lead dwindled to four.
“Our girls felt a little too comfortable,” May River coach Jermaine Bigham said. “In that third quarter, Manning had to come out here fighting and they did a great job of creating some turnovers. Going into the fourth quarter, we knew the game was a lot tighter, so we needed to be a lot more careful with our decision making.”
May River’s senior guards took over in the final period, finding ways around Manning’s press that led to layups or trips to the foul line. Drury scored six of her 12 points in the fourth, including four straight free throws to help seal the win, and Sneed scored a key bucket with a minute left to cap a 13-point effort.
Manning’s Measha Jones drove to the basket for the last of her 11 points to cut it to 59-55 with 1:25 left, and Emma Peluso had a bank shot from the lane pop in and out to give the Monarchs a chance to cut it to a one-possession game, but they were unable to convert and Sneed’s bucket at the other end pushed the margin to six.
The Sharks (19-6) finished undefeated at home, checking off another of their goals. Now they’ll take the show on the road to face top-ranked Marion (28-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Florence Center. It will be a monumental challenge, but 10th-ranked May River has already taken down the No. 4 and No. 6 teams in the state this postseason.
“We’re gonna go back and work on the little things, and we’re gonna execute the next game,” Sneed said. “We’ve just gotta keep focusing on ourselves and doing what we need to do to win.”
Story and photos by Justin Jarrett
