Northwood girls cruise
By Jaclyn Shambaugh
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
The Northwood Temple girls lived up to their No. 1 seed with a decisive showing in Saturday’s quarterfinal of the NCISAA 1-A playoffs.
The Eagles (20-5) catapulted to a double- digit lead in the first quarter and never looked back, knocking out No. 8 Charlotte Victory Christian in 64-38 fashion.
Northwood faces No. 4 Burlington School (17-6) in the semifinals Friday at host school Calvary Day in Winston-Salem.
Northwood’s normally well-oiled offense suffered the slightest hesitation at the start of the game, grinding out just a pair of baskets in the first four minutes of play.
But Victory Christian, faring even worse to start, called a timeout and that was all the break the Eagles needed to kickstart their offense.
Northwood went on a 9-0 run to finish out the first quarter, holding a 13-2 lead at the end of the first 8 minutes.
Coach Donald Moore said the Eagles settled into their roles, pulling together as a unit to turn the corner early.
“The guards take care of the ball, and the bigs take care of the basket,” Moore said.
Northwood 6-footer Arielle Wilson notched three first-half blocks, helping to set off a run of transition baskets and fuel the Eagles’ growing lead.
Wilson finished the night with 12 points.
Point guard Kendal Moore, a N.C. State recruit, scored a game-high 18 points.
“When Arielle gets the blocks, it makes out transition game a little easier,” Moore said. “We’re an athletic team. We like to run. We just try to tire everybody else.” With frequent substitutions keeping the Eagles fresh, Moore didn’t need to call a timeout at all in the game.
Victory Christian found some footing in the final quarter, putting up 16 points with the help of a trio of late 3-pointers.
But Northwood’s lead, grown to 25 points by the end of the third quarter, put the game out of reach.
By Jaclyn Shambaugh
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
The Northwood Temple girls lived up to their No. 1 seed with a decisive showing in Saturday’s quarterfinal of the NCISAA 1-A playoffs.
The Eagles (20-5) catapulted to a double- digit lead in the first quarter and never looked back, knocking out No. 8 Charlotte Victory Christian in 64-38 fashion.
Northwood faces No. 4 Burlington School (17-6) in the semifinals Friday at host school Calvary Day in Winston-Salem.
Northwood’s normally well-oiled offense suffered the slightest hesitation at the start of the game, grinding out just a pair of baskets in the first four minutes of play.
But Victory Christian, faring even worse to start, called a timeout and that was all the break the Eagles needed to kickstart their offense.
Northwood went on a 9-0 run to finish out the first quarter, holding a 13-2 lead at the end of the first 8 minutes.
Coach Donald Moore said the Eagles settled into their roles, pulling together as a unit to turn the corner early.
“The guards take care of the ball, and the bigs take care of the basket,” Moore said.
Northwood 6-footer Arielle Wilson notched three first-half blocks, helping to set off a run of transition baskets and fuel the Eagles’ growing lead.
Wilson finished the night with 12 points.
Point guard Kendal Moore, a N.C. State recruit, scored a game-high 18 points.
“When Arielle gets the blocks, it makes out transition game a little easier,” Moore said. “We’re an athletic team. We like to run. We just try to tire everybody else.” With frequent substitutions keeping the Eagles fresh, Moore didn’t need to call a timeout at all in the game.
Victory Christian found some footing in the final quarter, putting up 16 points with the help of a trio of late 3-pointers.
But Northwood’s lead, grown to 25 points by the end of the third quarter, put the game out of reach.
