This time, Toni Atherley didn’t come up short.
Women’s basketball’s big finals are going the distance after Atherley scored a game-high 25 points, including a huge fourth-quarter trey to spur UWI Blackbirds to Sunday’s series-levelling 64-56 Game 2 win over Station Hill Cavaliers at the Barbados Community College.
The heroic performance was a far cry from Thursday’s series opener, where Atherley managed a mere 11 points in Blackbirds’ last-second heartbreaker.
But Barbados’ best proved why she’s regarded as such, almost matching that tally in the first quarter with seven points before returning in the fourth to add six more as part of a decisive 18-7 UWI run.
This was after a UWI blowout had loomed while they were building a 44-38 third-quarter cushion during which the Cavs failed to get anything going offensively amidst the continued struggles of veteran Wanda Agard-Belgrave.
The former ten-time champs still threatened, even if briefly, making a game of the contest when Cherise Shepherd came off the bench to score six straight points and reduce the deficit to two.
Cavs never got any closer though, as Sadé Clarke hit a huge three-pointer to beat the third quarter buzzer before Toni-Ann Johnson rattled off successive layups (53-44) at the start of the fourth.
The run seemingly came to an end when Cavs point guard Tamisha Flatts responded with a long jumper while teammate Maria Cumberbatch split a pair of free throws the next time down.
However, Atherley immediately responded with a clutch triple, and Clarke followed suit on the very next possession before the latter returned for a layup via a deft backdoor cut (64-51) to put an end to any hopes of a Cavs rally.
It was the conclusive finish to a game UWI looked likely to blow open during the first quarter when Clarke and Atherley combined for three quick treys in an opening 13-2 burst.
But Cumberbatch answered with a key jumper, and Flatts added a pair of drives in transition that allowed the Cavs to pull within five (19-15) at the end of the first.
Cavs managed to take a 24-23 lead midway through the ensuing second with Jamila Studer dominating the offensive glass before the two sides traded in a tight physical contest.
Station Hill almost threw away the game on the other side of the break, as UWI took advantage of the Cavs’ decision to rest both Flatts and Cumberbatch at the same time by building a 44-38 cushion behind five straight points from Atherley.
Clarke finished with 17 points and Jennifer Joseph-Hackett added 14, while Cumberbatch and Studer led the Cavs with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
The deciding Game 3 is slated for tonight at the Wildey Gymnasium.