At 5-foot-3, Chagrin Falls’ Abby Kay was the shortest player on the court in the Tigers’ Jan. 3 game against host Riverside. But no one came up bigger than the Tigers’ sophomore guard when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter. Kay nailed a clutch 3-pointer — her only field goal of the game — to tie the score midway through the fourth quarter and then iced the game by making two free throws with 8.3 seconds on the clock, giving Chagrin a 49-45 road victory to start the new year. “She’s got ice in her veins,” Coach Brittany Laseak said of Kay, noting she is usually known as a defensive stopper more than a scorer. “She’s so tough. We count on her for a lot of defensive assignments. … This shows what a complete player she is.” As big as her mid-fourth 3-pointer was, the two late free throws stood out the most. With her team clinging to a 47-45 lead, Kay calmly stepped to the line and buried a pair of no-doubters from the charity stripe. “It was a little stressful, but it was definitely good to make them,” Kay said. “I had to make them. None of my teammates were there (on the line) with me. It was just me.” The late heroics capped an evening in which Chagrin Falls (7-4) didn’t take the lead until the first basket of the second half. Riverside (5-5) controlled much of the game, with 6-foot Emma Wilhelm dominating in the paint with a team-high 16 points against the shorter Chagrin Falls team. But after trailing for the entire first half, Chagrin took its first lead of the game to start the third quarter when Avery Russell hit a driving shot. “We had a big discussion about finishing plays,” Riverside coach Brian Fulton said. “We didn’t finish a lot of baskets. Instead of being up 8-10 points, we were only up 2-4 and next thing you know they hit a couple shots and they’re up four.” After leading by as many as eight points in the first half, Riverside led for only 30 seconds in the third quarter and only for a few minutes in the fourth. When Kellie Maples hit a 3 with 5:29 left, the Beavers held a 39-36 lead, but 19 seconds later, Kay’s triple tied the score. Aubrey Laurenty answered with a 3 a half-minute later, but Lilly Stukus answered with a 3-ball of her own to tied it a 42. With Chagrin holding a 45-42 lead on a Stukus charity shot, Jordyn White made a 3 from the top of the key to knot the score, but Chagrin answered quickly with an Emma Thatcher bucket in transition for a 47-45 lead. When the Tigers got the ball late, Kay’s free throws iced it. “Credit Chagrin Falls,” Fulton said. “We tied it up and they inbounded the ball and got a quick layup on us. They did a good job there.” Aside from Wilhelm’s 16, Riverside got 12 from Laurenty and eight from White. The Beavers play Mayfield in a Western Reserve Conference game against Mayfield on Jan. 4. “Forget about this game. We’ve got another game tomorrow,” Fulton said of the message to his team. “That’s the beauty of sports. It’s a big game because it’s the start of our conference.” Chagrin had good balance throughout the game. Russell had 16, with both Molly Wheatley and Stukus scoring nine. Thatcher had eight and Kay her clutch five. Chagrin plays Richmond Heights next week. Laseak credited her team’s unselfish play, saying, “Everybody was willing to step up in every way, shape and form. … This is huge. We have a ton of respect for the Riverside program. They are a quality team and play very well at home. So to drive up here in the snow and to keep our composure, this is a quality win for us going forward.” THE SCORE Chagrin Falls 49, Riverside 45