South Carroll saw its double-digit lead over Glenelg shrivel to two with 2:30 left last night in Winfield.
That's when the Cavaliers went back to what first gave them the early edge -- their inside game.
Sophomore Ce Wagener converted a three-point play and followed that with a short jumper to cap her career-high 20-point night and give South Carroll a 55-47 win over the Gladiators.
Senior forward Nicole Spencer added 19 points, as her and Wagener's presence inside was the difference.
"We didn't play very well, but we survived," said South Carroll coach Al Skierski. "Now we've established things inside, we need to improve on our outside game so we can take advantage of it."
The Cavaliers appeared to be in control midway through the second quarter when they went on a 14-2 run to open a 30-16 lead at the half.
Aside from an outside jumper from Carrie Tamburo with just under two minutes left in the half -- giving the Cavs their first double-digit lead at 24-14 -- all the damage was done inside with Spencer and Wagener.
Glenelg didn't have a player to contain either, with the 5-9 Spencer scoring six of her 19 points during the run and the 6-1 Wagener adding eight.
"We played hard. There was the one three- or four-minute stretch in the second quarter that killed us," said Glenelg coach Randy Wallenhorst.
The Gladiators packed it in with a tight zone defense to make the Cavaliers beat them from the outside.
And while the Cavs stayed cold from the outside, Glenelg steadily clawed its way back with some solid outside shooting.
"We said, 'Let's make them beat us from the outside,' and they barely did," Wallenhorst said. "[South Carroll] has a very good team and I think we got respect."
Lauren Brown (16 points) got things started in the third quarter with two jumpers. Kim Brown (12 points) hit back-to-back three-pointers midway through the quarter, and when she hit an off-balance baseline jumper at the buzzer to end the third, the Gladiators trailed 39-32.
The Gladiators continued to chip away in the fourth quarter. South Carroll's 11-for-37 shooting from the free-throw line throughout was a big help.
Kim Brown hit another three-pointer with 3:10 left to cut the South Carroll lead to 49-45 and Jill Younce added a jumper with 2:30 left to get within two, but the rest of the night belonged to Wagener and the Cavaliers' defense, which kept Glenelg scoreless the rest of the way.