GIRLS 1-A TRINITY CHRISTIAN 65, NEUSE CHRISTIAN 59
Scruggs leads Crusaders to title
By Eli Pacheco
Correspondent
CHARLOTTE — Trinity Christian star Alex Scruggs powered her team to a gamechanging rally against top seed Neuse Christian on Saturday in the NCISAA 1-A girls’ basketball final.
But the Crusaderes would have to close out the win without her.
Trinity (204) held off Neuse 65-59 for the state championship, behind Scruggs’ game-high 39 points. She fouled out with 3:23 left in the game when Trinity led by four points. Trinity responded by holding the previously unbeaten Lions to one basket the rest of the way.
“It was time for somebody else to step up, and they did,” said Trinity coach Charles Stubbs, who left Scruggs in with four fouls most of the second half. “Our seniors stepped up, made free throws, and made layups.”
Neuse (24-1) led by 10 points early in the second half, but Trinity slowly cut into the lead and trailed by two at the end of three periods.
Mack Wilder led the Lions with 18 points, and Isabela Leite added 16. Julia Zupicich scored 13 for Neuse, who used an inside-outside game to control the first half.
“This season was the best thing that’s happened to any of us,” said Wilder, who, like teammate Leite played much of the second half with four fouls. “We’re a team that plays so well together, just as one unit. We did that all year.”
On the other side, Scruggs scored 10 of her points in the final period. Then came her fifth foul, defending a drive by Wilder, whose foul shots cut the deficit to 61-57. Despite going 4-for-10 on free throws down the stretch, Trinity held off Neuse for the victory.
“We were just two teams that wanted this,” said Wilder, who feared she’d drawn her fifth foul late on a play called a held ball. “If they had a good trip down the court, we wanted to come back and do even better. We had our chances today, but I believe for us, there’s something bigger.”
It helped that Leite, who’d answered many of Trinity’s runs with timely baskets, fouled out one minute after Scruggs. That left two teams without scoring stars to battle it out for the title.
Trinity, which lost to Northwood Temple Academy in the final last season, topped Neuse in the semifinals last year. For the Crusaders, Saturday’s surge to knock off an unbeaten top seed for a title capped a season that forward Aiyanna Stallworth called a redemption year.
“Those last few minutes were intense,” Stallworth said. (Scruggs) “is a big factor on this team, but we just came together as a team and pushed forward, knowing she was out of the game. We came together and knew this was what we wanted to do.”
Trinity Christian 65, Neuse 59
TRINITY CHRISTIAN — Alex Scruggs 39, Destiny Gainey 14, Lavaria Homestead 6, Aiyanna Stallworth 4, Nikki Cooke 2.
NEUSE CHRISTIAN— Mack Wilder 18, Isabela Leite 16, Julia Zupicich 13, Izabel Deangelo 9, Kaitlin Martin 3.
Scruggs leads Crusaders to title
By Eli Pacheco
Correspondent
CHARLOTTE — Trinity Christian star Alex Scruggs powered her team to a gamechanging rally against top seed Neuse Christian on Saturday in the NCISAA 1-A girls’ basketball final.
But the Crusaderes would have to close out the win without her.
Trinity (204) held off Neuse 65-59 for the state championship, behind Scruggs’ game-high 39 points. She fouled out with 3:23 left in the game when Trinity led by four points. Trinity responded by holding the previously unbeaten Lions to one basket the rest of the way.
“It was time for somebody else to step up, and they did,” said Trinity coach Charles Stubbs, who left Scruggs in with four fouls most of the second half. “Our seniors stepped up, made free throws, and made layups.”
Neuse (24-1) led by 10 points early in the second half, but Trinity slowly cut into the lead and trailed by two at the end of three periods.
Mack Wilder led the Lions with 18 points, and Isabela Leite added 16. Julia Zupicich scored 13 for Neuse, who used an inside-outside game to control the first half.
“This season was the best thing that’s happened to any of us,” said Wilder, who, like teammate Leite played much of the second half with four fouls. “We’re a team that plays so well together, just as one unit. We did that all year.”
On the other side, Scruggs scored 10 of her points in the final period. Then came her fifth foul, defending a drive by Wilder, whose foul shots cut the deficit to 61-57. Despite going 4-for-10 on free throws down the stretch, Trinity held off Neuse for the victory.
“We were just two teams that wanted this,” said Wilder, who feared she’d drawn her fifth foul late on a play called a held ball. “If they had a good trip down the court, we wanted to come back and do even better. We had our chances today, but I believe for us, there’s something bigger.”
It helped that Leite, who’d answered many of Trinity’s runs with timely baskets, fouled out one minute after Scruggs. That left two teams without scoring stars to battle it out for the title.
Trinity, which lost to Northwood Temple Academy in the final last season, topped Neuse in the semifinals last year. For the Crusaders, Saturday’s surge to knock off an unbeaten top seed for a title capped a season that forward Aiyanna Stallworth called a redemption year.
“Those last few minutes were intense,” Stallworth said. (Scruggs) “is a big factor on this team, but we just came together as a team and pushed forward, knowing she was out of the game. We came together and knew this was what we wanted to do.”
Trinity Christian 65, Neuse 59
TRINITY CHRISTIAN — Alex Scruggs 39, Destiny Gainey 14, Lavaria Homestead 6, Aiyanna Stallworth 4, Nikki Cooke 2.
NEUSE CHRISTIAN— Mack Wilder 18, Isabela Leite 16, Julia Zupicich 13, Izabel Deangelo 9, Kaitlin Martin 3.
