Timber Creek Clinches Division

When Timber Creek's girls' basketball team took the court Wednesday evening against division rival Shawnee, everyone knew what was at stake.

A Timber Creek win over the Renegades would clinch the Olympic Confence Patriot Division for the Lady Chargers; a loss would earn Shawnee a share of the title.

It was evident the Lady Chargers (18-6) didn't think too highly of the idea of sharing anything, as they dispatched Shawnee (11-11) in convincing fashion, 59-40, to earn their second consecutive Patriot Division crown.

Senior guard Jasmine Martin once again led the way for the Chargers, scoring 29 points and collecting 10 rebounds, six steals and five assists. Senior Alexis Riff added 10 points while Deanna Martin chipped in seven.

"It feels really good," Martin said about clinching. "My freshman and sophomore year, we had it taken away from us. It felt good to be able to finish strong (winning divisional titles the last two years)."

From the start, Timber Creek had the look of a team craving a win. The famliar 2-3 zone defense seemed to have more teeth in it on this evening. The Lady Chargers pressured the Renegades' ball handlers into poor decisions in building a 12-point lead halfway through the second quarter.

Shawnee, however, was able to close the gap to only two points as the half expired.

"They took advantage of our mistakes," Martin said, referring to a five-minute span in the second quarter when the Chargers seemed to loosen their grip on the defensive side of the court. "We were playing sloppy and making turnovers, and they capitalized.

"We knew we had to put them away in the second half."

These were sentiments that were echoed by the Chargers coach Donna Clark. Clark was clearly proud of her squad after the game, but recalled challenging them during the half.

"At halftime we gave them a little hope. I told them, 'I am not sharing this title,'" she said.

Her team responded. The second half was all Timber Creek, on both sides of the court.

With a renewed intesity on defense and a hot hand on offense, the game was not in doubt again. Timber Creek never looked back as the lead ballooned to as much as 23 points in the second half.

"They definitely were hustling more," the coach said of her team's second-half effort. "That was one of the things we talked about at halftime."

Wednesday night's game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed due to issues with the weather. This has caused some rescheduling for the remainder of the Lady Chargers' schedule for this week. While they will still play Lenape on Thursday, Friday's road game against Seneca has been canceled.

Thursday's game at Timber Creek against Lenape is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.