Caravel’s Grace Lange (left) reaches for a rebound against St. Elzabeth’s Kailee Gautier during Caravel’s 47-43 win Friday.
Caravel’s Ondia Brown (right) tries to keep control of the ball in front of St. Elizabeth’s Alexis Bromwell during second half of Caravel’s 47-43 win Friday.
Caravel’s Grace Lange (right) goes to the basket and is fouled by St. Elizabeth’s Ya-kyra Smith-Hines during the second half of Caravel’s 47-43 win Friday.
St. Elizabeth’s Ya-kyra Smith-Hines (left) defends as Caravel’s Karli Cauley goes to the basket in the second half of Caravel’s 47-43 win Friday.
GLASGOW– Few things are more satisfying to a basketball coach than seeing a young team making the proper plays under pressure to win a big game.
So after being “about as mad as I’ve ever been coaching” at halftime, Caravel girls basketball coach Kristin Caldwell was in a great mood at the end Friday night.
Freshmen Ondia Brown and Karli Cauley combined for the final four points as the fifth-ranked Buccaneers broke a tie in the final seconds and downed No. 3 St. Elizabeth 47-43 at Caravel.
“Two freshmen that I got all over at halftime – Ondia and Karli – make two of the biggest plays of the game down the stretch,” Caldwell said. “That’s the type of kids they are. They’re kids that want the ball, that want to make big plays.”
The Buccaneers (8-3) led 12-6 after one quarter, but the Vikings (6-2) got it rolling in the second quarter. St. Elizabeth capped a 13-2 run by converting a late turnover into Alexis Bromwell’s 3-pointer to take a 23-18 halftime lead.
“I was about as mad as I’ve ever been coaching after our last possession before halftime,” Caldwell said. “Knucklehead play, we give up a 3. But what I’m really proud of with freshmen is the way they bounce back.”
The Buccaneers got their coach’s message.
“She told us basically that we’re better than that,” Brown said. “The way we were playing wasn’t up to our potential.”
Caravel reeled off eight straight points to take a 28-27 lead on Kaylee Otlowski’s putback with 2:15 left in the third quarter. It was close the rest of the way, with two ties and four lead changes.
Grace Lange hit a cutting Otlowski for a layup that turned into a three-point play for a 43-42 Caravel lead with 51.2 seconds left. St. E’s Alanna Speaks made one of two free throws to tie it at 43 with 24.7 seconds to go.
Then Brown beat the Vikings down the court, and Cauley found her all alone for a fast-break opportunity.
“She called for the ball, which was great,” Cauley said. “I got it up to her, and she got the points we really needed.”
Brown’s layup gave the Buccaneers a 45-43 lead with 18 seconds remaining.
“It was just teamwork,” Brown said. “You’ve got to keep your head up and just look for the open person. I was open, and I made it.”
The Vikings missed a 3-point attempt with 11.4 seconds to go, and Cauley stepped to the foul line with a chance to clinch it. She did, hitting both ends of a one-and-one for the final points with 6.7 seconds left.
“It’s really nerve-wracking as a freshman,” Cauley said. “But you’ve just got to silence out the crowd and just focus on what needs to be done.”
The Vikings were undermined by 8 of 21 foul shooting, a surprise after they hit 22 of 30 in a 71-50 victory over Padua last Saturday.
“I always tell the kids, ‘If you’re going to lose a game by four, three or two, your foul shots are what is going to cost you,’” St. E coach Dan Cooney said. “You’re going to win the game by the foul line or you’re going to lose the game by the foul line. And tonight, we lost it by not hitting the foul shots.”
Maia Bryson led Caravel with 16 points. Lange added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Otlowski had 12 points and six boards.
Bromwell made three 3-pointers on the way to 13 points for St. E. Speaks added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.