The Hammond Golden Bears and South Carroll Cavaliers both were looking for some questions to be answered in their season openers last night in Winfield.
The defending Class 2A state champ and No. 2 Golden Bears were wondering what life was going to be like after the graduation of guard sensation Kacy Williams and forward Sonia Keiner.
The question for the No. 12 Cavaliers was whether they could stay with one of the metro area's elites.
Both had to come away reasonably satisfied with the Bears' 53-46 win.
Every time the Bears would show signs of pulling away, the Cavaliers would find a way to get back in the game. In the end, it was the Bears' free throws that proved to be the difference.
Tiki Nicholson and Kellye Townsend led the way for the Bears with 15 each. The Cavaliers got a 16-point effort from Amber Clutter and 11 more from Nicole Spencer, despite being in foul trouble from the start.
"I'm happy to come out of this gym with a win," said Hammond coach Joe Russo.
"It was the first game and we were a little rusty with a new team still working on chemistry. We hit our foul shots at the end and that carried us."
South Carroll forward Melissa Gettemy hit the game's first basket, but that was the only lead the Cavaliers would enjoy.
The Bears would build leads of eight and nine points in the first three quarters, but the Cavaliers -- minus injured starter Erin Nauyalis and top reserve Amy Stephenson (flu) -- always found a way to climb back, mostly with solid defense.
Brandy Peaker's basket with 7:35 left gave the Bears a 38-28 lead and they would own their biggest lead a minute later when Nicholson hit a pair of free throws to put them ahead 40-28, but the Cavaliers rallied behind Spencer's seven fourth-quarter points to get within 47-41 with 1:29 left.
That's when the Bears took over from the free-throw line, hitting eight of 12 in the final two minutes to preserve the win. Townsend made five of six during the stretch.
"We played very hard. We just didn't play well at times and they hit their free throws," said South Carroll coach Al Skierski.
"We'd get close and then they'd blow out to an eight- or nine-point lead. We just never got over the hump. They held their composure and are a good team and we're not that far behind."