Chatham Girls’ Hoops Upends Randolph in OT, 46-41

It wasn’t one of Chatham’s best offensive performances, but junior guard Riley Allen drained 18 points and freshman guard Mia Semioli chipped in with 10 points, five assists and four steals, as the Lady Cougars’ defense picked up the rest of the slack in their 46-41 overtime win over Randolph Friday at home to tip off the season.

“Our defense is usually our staple,” Head Coach Joe Gaba said. “We’re starting two freshmen (Semioli and Ella Kreuzer). You knew that was going to be a little bit of struggle until they started to feel more comfortable. But our defense has been our thing for the past few years. Right now, we’re struggling on the offense end, but our defense always saves us.”

Chatham (1-0) edged the Lady Rams, 11-9, in the first quarter. But Randolph outscored the Lady Cougars, 12-4, in the second period to take a 21-15 lead at the half.

Chatham put its typical stingy defense on display, limiting the Lady Rams to six points while its offense posted 14 for a 29-27 advantage in the third quarter.

Randolph knotted the contest at 38-38 with 20 seconds left in regulation on a layup from Sarah Bona, who finished the game with 16 points.

Sophomore Addison Barrett, who scored eight points, opened the extra period with a basket before Bona answered with one of her own.

Freshman Ella Kreuzer, who dropped in six points, sank two from the charity stripe and Barrett nailed two more free throws to give the Lady Cougars a three-point lead with 47.5 seconds to go in the game.

Chatham’s solid defense, with big contributions from senior forward Carly Frohnapfel, forced a turnover on the ensuing possession and Allen nailed two free throws to ice the game down the stretch.

Chatham squares off versus Teaneck on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Pascack Valley Showcase.

— Jerry Del Priore