Head coach Joshua Staley insisted he called it the moment Orangeburg-Wilkinson guard Nyshaia Bradley heaved up a 40-foot jumper as the first quarter ended Friday night against Dutch Fork.

"That's good!," he said while watching the play from the home sidelines in the Bruins' Den.

Staley's call proved prophetic as the desperation shot sailed through the net as the buzzer sounded. Bradley's shot more than just brought the Bruinette faithful and the bench into a happy frenzy... it capped a 14-0 run that O-W used to surge into the third round of the Class 4-A playoffs for the first time in four years.

The 57-39 victory over the Lady Silver Foxes was the 18th straight home playoff win dating back to 1997 and 12th straight overall this season for the Bruinettes (23-2).

In avenging their last defeat suffered Jan. 5 at the hands of the Lady Silver Foxes 70-66, the Bruinettes more than followed Staley's pre-game mantra of containing leading scorer Chelsey Peterson. The junior forward was held to her second-lowest point total of the season with seven points and did not score a field goal until the 1:24 mark of the third quarter.

It was the only field goal made by Dutch Fork (16-8) in the third quarter when O-W enjoyed its biggest lead of 27 points. Staley credited the defensive effort of Kenyatta Thrower, Waneeshia Perry and Janae Simmons in frustrating Peterson as well as guards Bradley, La'Teia Brailey and Shawanda Hanton's efforts in slowing point Devin Pearson, who finished with a team-high 11 points, but scored just three after halftime.

"We wanted to make sure that we contained (Peterson)," Staley said. "I knew if we could contain her, it would give us an advantage."

Ask Dutch Fork head coach Anne Long what was the biggest difference in the third meeting between the two teams, she immediately pointed to the presence of Erica Sumpter. Missing in the Jan. 5 loss while recovering from an ankle injury, Sumpter led the Bruinettes with 12 points and seven rebounds and was problematic for the Lady Silver Foxes both on offense and defense.

"She's a good player," Long said. "She plays both ends of the court well, is very physical and she has players who compliment her."

After free throws by Peterson tied the game at 12-12, O-W took command with 14 unanswered points. The Bruinettes' .jpgling defense had the Lady Silver Foxes' backcourt out of sync and making unforced turnovers, while the frontcourt capitalized on their size advantage by racking up points on the inside.

"We played great defense and we were able to create points," Staley said.

With 3.9 seconds remaining, Bradley closed the scoring run and first quarter in spectacular fashion. She quickly dribbled past the halfcourt line after receiving the inbound pass and pulled up from the visitor's side of the gym for the buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Jasmine Harris tried to keep Dutch Fork close, scoring eight of her team-high 12 points in the second quarter. Once again, Bradley seized the momentum for O-W by scoring its last four points of the second quarter to make it 41-24 at halftime. Bradley finished with nine points off the bench and was praised by Staley for her play.

This was the first postseason meeting between O-W and Dutch Fork since the 2002 final won by the Bruinettes 58-47. Having opened the playoffs against 1976 state final foe West Florence, O-W's trip down "state championship memory lane" continues Monday at Hartsville, a 64-54 winner over Ridge View.

The Bruinettes and Lady Red Foxes meet in the Class A final three consecutive years from 1990-92, with O-W winning in 1991.

O-W (57)

Erika Sumpter 12, Nyshaia Bradley 9, Janae Simmons 6, Kenyatta Thrower 6, Cherisha Floyd 6, Waneeshia Perry 6, Jessica Jenkins 5, La'teia Brailey 4, Shawanda Hanton 3

DUTCH FORK (39)

Jasmine Harris 12, Devin Pearson 11, Chelsey Peterson 7, Laurin Green 4, Brittany Bolton 2, Erin Houston 2, Nakia Brown 1

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