ROCK HILL — It was a basketball game which eventually turned into a free-throw shooting contest.

In the end, Clover escaped the Northwestern High School gymnasium with a 55-52 victory in Region 3-AAAA action on Friday.

The contest featured 41 combined fouls and 79 total free throw attempts, with Clover attempting 44 and Northwestern shooting 35.

The excessive amount of free throws, Northwestern coach John Bramlett said, did not take away from an intense and competitive battle.

"This was just a good high school basketball game; they played great and we also played well. In the end, they made one more basket than we did."

Having trailed by as many as seven early in the third, Northwestern chipped away at the deficit until guard Iesha Love picked off a steal and dribbled down the court for a layup and a one-point Trojan lead, 48-47, with 3:08 remaining in the contest.

Clover, however, was able to maintain its poise. Lauren Richardson, who scored a game-high 24 points and guard Aaliyah Knox added four straight free throws for a 52-47 Clover advantage with 42.8 seconds remaining.

Mariah McCoy drove into the lane for a layup, pulling Northwestern within three, 52-49, with 33.6 seconds left. However, Clover was able to connect on four more foul shots. McCoy added a 3-pointer to bring the Trojans to within three.

After two Blue Eagles missed foul shots, Northwestern missed a desperation shot as time expired.

Irvin Goodwin

Northwestern - Iesha Love 6, Aubriana Thompson 15, Sha'shay Alexander 4, Cayse Branyon 2, Natalie Henderson 5, Mariah McCoy 20.

Clover - Aaliyah Knox 4, Telliya Patton 3, Sydney Sanders 3, Elizabeth Edmunds 2, Gadson Leftt 6, Bria Huffman 24, Lauren Richardson 13.

3-pointers - Clover 2 (Huffman 1, Sanders 1), Northwestern 1 (McCoy 1).

Team fouls - Clover 20, Northwestern 21. Fouled out - Leftt (C).

Records: Northwestern 15-4, 3-3 in Region 3-AAAA; Clover 15-4, 6-0 in Region 3-AAAA.

Fort Mill 57, South Pointe 45

Fort Mill came out hot in the first quarter and nailed 5 of 8 shots from the field while running to a 12-4 lead. South Pointe could not find the range and made only two-of-14 attempts from the floor.

Led by Lauren Woods, who had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, the Yellow Jackets built their lead to 10 points, 24-14 at the intermission. The lead would stretch to 22 points in the third quarter, and when the period ended South Pointe trailed 41-23.

But give it to the Stallions, who gave it a good shot in the final eight minutes. They outscored the Yellow Jackets 22-16 and scored nine straight points to tighten the game. The outburst was led by London Minor, who scored 10 of her 12 points in the final quarter.

Doug Hobbs

Fort Mill - Rea Lynch 8, Carley Ross 19, Lauren Woods 13, Arianna Grexious 9, Bri Stechey 8.

South Pointe - Sierra Gilmore 7, Deiona Davis 2, Ashley Jaggers 12, London Minor 12, Kyra Currense 6, Taylor Madsen 1, Jacova Cherry 1.

3-pointers - Fort Mill 5 (Lynch 2, Ross 3), South Pointe 4 (Currence 2, Cherry 1, Madsen 1).

Team fouls - Fort Mill 12, South Pointe 20.

Records: Fort Mill 9-10, 4-2 in Region 4-AAA; South Pointe 5-14, 1-5 in Region 4-AAA.

Rock Hill 42, Gaffney 34

The Rock Hill Bearcats scored the final seven points to break open a one-point game and pick up their first region win against the visiting Gaffney Indians.

Junior center Shaunte Young scored five points in the quarter, none bigger than the two she got on a putback after junior guard Chelsey Dorsey missed two free throws with 40 seconds remaining. The follow put the Bearcats up 39-34.

Steven Bowers

Rock Hill - Shaunte Young 13, Asia Potts 9, Jasmine Crockett 7, Chelsey Dorsey 5, Zakiya Knox 4, Anita Brown 2, Jericka English 1, Heather Sutton 1.

Gaffney - Tiana Logan 8, Ansley McCraw 5, Termira Bonner 4, Tymichia McGill 4, Ta'Nia Cornwell 3, Yasmine Ellis 3, Alisha Linder 3, Sierra Davidson 2, Callie Phillips 2.

3-pointers - None.

Team fouls - Rock Hill 12, Gaffney 18. Fouled out - Bonner (G).

Records: Rock Hill 9-11, 1-5 Region 3-AAAA, Gaffney 7-12, 1-5 in Region 3-AAAA.

Nation Ford 47,

Fairfield Central 41

Kai McCorvey scored 15 points, pulled down 23 rebounds and handed out 9 assists to lead the Nation Ford Falcons to a 47-41 win over Fairfield Central.

The win, which gave Nation Ford a 5-1 region mark, was the 300th for coach Frank Snider. Zharne Glover joined McCorvey in double figures with 13. Paris Bankole helped the cause with 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Fairfield Central - Seibles 3, Jada Martin 13, Davis 1, Pearson 1, Watkins 7, Butler 2, Jasmine Bostick 14.

Nation Ford - Brice 1, Zharne Glover 13, Yarborough 1, E. Bright 6, Lucas 2, Kai McCorvey 15, Bankole 9.

3-pointers: Fairfield Central 2 (Bostick 2, Watkins 1) Nation Ford 1 (Glover 1).

Records: Nation Ford 11-8 overall, 5-1 in Region 4-AAA; Fairfield 14-6 overall, 3-3 in Region 4-AAA.

Chester 75, York 70 (OT)

The Chester Cyclones outscored the York Lady Cougars 11-6 in overtime and claimed a 75-70 region win.

Donnesha Crockett led the way for the Cyclones with 24 points. Destiny Isom and Shannon Snelgrove joined her in double figures with 10 points each.

Chester trailed 30-23 at intermission. It outscored the Cougars 22-14 in the third period to take a 45-44 lead heading into the final period.

Carrie Lancaster led York with 17 points.

York - Carrie Lancaster 17, Ashanti Wilson 12, Brittany Cannon 12, Kelondra Lytle 12, Rere Dervin 17.

Chester - Shaterica Mayfield 4, Destiny Isom 10, Shannon Snelgrove 10, Donnesha Crockett 24, Diamond Simpson 8, T'Ericka Sanders 4, Britnee Shonson 7.

Fouled out - Dervin, Lancaster (Y). Technical fouls: Dervin (Y).

Compiled by Sam Copeland