By Joe Overby, Correspondent
APEX — The 25-game win streak for Apex High's girls basketball team came to a sudden and shocking halt Thursday night, as Broughton High defeated the Lady Cougars in dramatic fashion in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 4-A playoffs.
Apex held a sevent-point lead with just under five minutes to play, but couldn't close out the relentless Lady Capitals, who staged a furious comeback to end the Lady Cougars' remarkable run with a 47-46 win that came down to the final seconds.
Down by one with 11.3 seconds left, Apex had one last chance. Guard Bethany Collins drove the length of the floor, where her shot from the right side of the lane fell short and was rebounded by a teammate out of bounds.
BHS simply ran out the clock and advanced to the second round, ending Apex's season much sooner than most thought it would.
"It was a great game. Both teams played really hard, were really competitive," said Apex coach Scott Campbell. "We just came out short-handed."
The Lady Cougars grabbed the lead with just over 2 minutes left in the first quarter and wouldn't trail for the next 25 minutes, but the Lady Capitals closed the gap down the stretch thanks largely to a well-timed defensive decision that frustrated Apex's offense.
With 4:44 left in the game, the Lady Cougars jumped on top 44-37 when guard Chloe Wells drained a jumper at the top of the key. Less than 30 seconds later, BHS coach Donna Jordan called a timeout and instructed her players to double-team Wells, who led Apex with 16 points.
"We called timeout and decided we needed to double-team Chloe," Jordan said. "We knew she was the key. She was the heart of their circulatory system."
BHS certainly clogged Apex's scoring arteries, hunkering down on defense to go on a 10-2 run to close the game as the Lady Caps kept Wells from scoring another point.
"I think we did a great defensive job keeping them in the 40s, we just didn't score," Campbell said.
Throughout the night, Apex struggled with making it an up-tempo game -- one of its strong suits -- where it forces turnovers to score easy transition buckets.
"We got away from getting things in transition, and when we get away from the transition, when the game is in the 40s, things get tough," Campbell said.
And while it may have appeared the Lady Cougars were trying to slow the game late in the contest , that was not the case, Campbell said.
"We weren't trying to hold the ball, we were just trying to spread it out," Campbell said. "We just couldn't get anything out of it. We just couldn't get anything into the lane."
And Broughton took advantage.
Amber Nichols nailed three straight jumpers for the Lady Caps down the stretch to make it 44-43 Apex. then BHS guard Brittany Morris hit a dagger with 1:48, as her 3-pointer gave BHS a 46-44 lead, its first since the first quarter.
Apex senior Meredith Greene made a huge jumper from the right corner with 23.1 seconds left to tie it a 46-46.
After the timeout, Broughton's Nichols missed inside the lane, but teammate Jolonda Mitchell grabbed the rebound and was fouled on the put-back with just over 11 seconds left.
Mitchell made the first of two free throws, then missed the second, setting the stage for Apex's last-gasp effort.
And though the Lady Cougars final shot -- and postseason trip -- ultimately fell short, the team walked away proud of their accomplishment, which included a Tri-Eight championship in addition to the 25-game win streak.
"Eventually, I hope they're proud of the fact they're 25-1," Campbell said. "Right now, I'm sure it doesn't (feel good), but at some point."
"Effort, just a team effort. We didn't let down or anything ... we were there for each other on and off the court this season," said Greene, who also had a message for her underclassmen teammates.
"They still have next year and we can't be upset with anything," she told them after the game. "We played our hardest."
And after finishing her talk with a reporter, Greene then walked back into the Apex gym with her Lady Cougar teammates, where parents, fans and classmates cheered as they entered.
