Not like it did in the first half.

The Thunderbirds made just eight field goals, turned the ball over eight times in the opening 16 minutes and trailed at halftime before a huge third-quarter run changed the course of the game en route to a 61-41 victory.

It was not nearly as easy as the final score indicated.

The Tapestry duo of freshman Jayda Smith and junior Destiny Purdue scored their team’s first 14 points before freshman Markie Bridgers’ free throw gave the Thunder Hawks a 15-14 lead after the first quarter.

“They really were looking to drive in and make things happen inside the paint,” Chautauqua Lake coach Bill Persons said of the Thunder Hawks’ high-scoring pair. “That’s what they were getting in the first half. In the second half we were able to control it a little bit more.”

Chautauqua Lake was able to keep it close early thanks to an 8-4 run over their first five possessions that included two key baskets from senior reserve Alexandria Krebs.

Tapestry’s lead grew to as many as nine at 26-17 midway through the second quarter, but junior Emily Phelps’ 3-pointer on the Thunderbirds’ final possession of the half made it a four-point game as the teams headed to their locker rooms.

“I don’t know what was going on in the first half to be honest with you,” Persons said. “We were trying a little bit of a different thing just trying to mix it up a little. … We haven’t seen Tapestry before so it was just different.”

The Thunder Hawks opened the second half with the first two buckets to grow their lead to 13, but Chautauqua Lake answered with a 19-0 run through the end of the quarter that included eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, from junior Katelyn Fardink.

“She’s clutch for us. She knows that she can get off the 3 and she can make them pretty well,” Persons said. “Sometimes she just has to look for a different option if the 3 isn’t going in, and try to get a different part of her game opened up.”

Eighth-grader Lily Woodis opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play and the Thunderbirds were well on the way to evening their record at 2-2 on the season.

“I don’t know what our field goal percentage was in the first half, but it wasn’t as good as the other night,” Persons said, recalling Wednesday night’s 84-41 win over Olean. “That comes back to the inconsistency part of being a young team. They obviously had good looks, but we just have to have confidence in ourselves and look to be aggressive offensively and defensively.”

Fardink led Chautauqua Lake with 15 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals en route to being named her team’s Most Valuable Player.

Woodis added 11 points; junior Abigail Henry had 10 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals; and Phelps chipped in 10 points in the win.

Purdue led Tapestry with 18 points and four steals to go along with three rebounds en route to being named her team’s MVP while Smith had 17 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals.

“We knew going in that Nos. 3 and 5 were going to be their go-tos. I didn’t want to do anything gimmick-wise because I didn’t know anything about the other bigs down there,” Persons said. “We just stuck straight man. I tried to just put more pressure on. The girls just needed a little more fire to put more pressure on those two and get them out of their comfort zone.”

NOTES: Purdue and Smith combined for 23 of the Thunder Hawks’ 26 first-half points and 12 of 15 in the second half. … Chautauqua Lake held a 33-26 rebounding advantage. … Eighth-grader Lexi Jacobson had six assists for the Thunderbirds. … Sophomore Jada Mosley pulled down 10 rebounds for Tapestry (3-4).

TAPESTRY (41)

Bridgers 0 1 1, Smith 8 0 17, Purdue 7 2 18, Orcel 0 0 0, Mulkey 0 0 0, Mosley 1 0 2, Anderson 1 1 3. Totals 17 4 41.

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE (61)

Henry 5 0 10, Keyser 0 0 0, Roush 0 0 0, Fardink 5 1 15, Perdue 1 0 3, Phelps 4 0 10, Krebs 2 0 4, Jacobson 0 0 0, Woodis 4 2 11, Zenns 3 2 8. Totals 24 5 61.

3-point goals–Smith, Purdue 2, Fardink 4, Perdue, Phelps 2, Woodis

Tapestry 15 11 4 11 — 41

Chautauqua Lake 14 8 19 20 — 61