Carolina Day wins WNC-record 7th title
Andrew Pearson, apearson@citizen-times.com 4:10 p.m. EST February 28, 2015
Tess Harris led four players in double figures with 16 points and Carolina Day made history for Western North Carolina girls basketball with a 58-55 win over Northside Christian Academy in Saturday morning's NCISAA 2-A championship game.
Mikayla Ray added 11 points, while Ralene Kwiatkowski and Cheyenne Bunner contributed 10 apiece.
By hoisting their fifth consecutive NCISAA 2-A title inside Asheville School's Carter Gym, the Wildcats (22-6) became the first WNC girls program to win seven state championships.
They previously shared the record with Hayesville, which had a six-year run in NCHSAA 1-A basketball from 1988 to 1993. Asheville High's girls have won four state championships.
Carolina Day has been coached since 2010 by Joe Carrington and began its five-year streak of conference championships in 2011, the last year that the NCISAA tournament was in the Asheville area. All of the state championship games are being played Saturday at Asheville School.
The first two state championships for the Wildcats occurred in 1995 and 1996 at the NCISAA 1-A level under former coach Jack Warren.
Harris is a junior from Madison County who led their year's Carolina Day team in scoring with 15.7 points per game, followed by Kwiatkowski (12.7 ppg.), who is a sophomore from Buncombe County.
The Wildcats will only lose two seniors to graduation. Bunner has been selected to play in next month's North Carolina/South Carolina private school all-star game. Abigail Ward, who is from Henderson County, has committed to play lacrosse at West Point.
More on Saturday's championship game from correspondent Tyler Norris Goode:
ASHEVILLE After battling all morning to get some separation from gritty Northside Christian, Carolina Day School's girls finally stood alone at the postgame trophy celebration all alone.
The Wildcats made just enough free throws down the stretch of the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association's 2-A title game to put away Northside's Knights 58-55, and become the first Western North Carolina girls basketball team to win a seventh state championship.
"It is just a testament to the kids and all the work they've done," said sixth-year CDS coach Joe Carrington. "We've got a great group of kids, and they played with heart today. They buy into what we direct them to do. This is their championship."
CDS junior Tess Harris led all scorers with 17 points, and Mikayla Ray added 11 for the Wildcats (22-6) as they won their fifth straight title. CDS also won state championships in 1995 and 1996.
"We had a chance to do something no other team has done before," said CDS senior Cheyenne Bunner, who added 10 points. "It's incredible I can't even think right now."
Making its first title-game appearance, Northside Christian (26-4) certainly didn't make it easy for the Wildcats. The young Knights, who had one senior (Shannon Vickers), lost a starter before the tip when junior Kylee Calabrese injured an ankle in pregame warmups and had to be carried off the court.
"My team plays hard," Northside coach Ashley McGuirt said. "We practice hard, and it carried over to the game. For 32 minutes, we didn't quit. We played a complete game, and we were there for each other. I'm very proud of them It's motivation for next year."
Led by eighth-grader Christina McLean and sophomore Eleah Parker (14 points apiece), the Knights erased deficits of seven and 11 points and briefly took the lead on McLean's 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:12 left in the third period.
After Bunner hit a free throw to knot the score, Harris closed out the quarter with a steal and layup that put Carolina Day ahead for good.
"It's like we have a big bulls-eye on our chest, and it gets harder and harder every year," Harris said. "But this one's more special because it filled up Joe's first hand (with five rings). Now it's time to start on the other one."
Indeed, Carolina Day returns four starters and several key players off the bench. The Wildcats' other seniors this season were Hannah Draddy and Abigail Ward.
Starting sophomores Ralene Kwiatkowski (10 points) and Casey Yarborough (six points) and starting freshman Emily Crawford (four points) all made key contributions in the championship game.
"I definitely think they'll keep going strong here," Bunner said. "This is a great program, and we've got a lot of young players coming up. They're going to get older, and they're going to get stronger, and I think they'll continue to win."
Andrew Pearson, apearson@citizen-times.com 4:10 p.m. EST February 28, 2015
Tess Harris led four players in double figures with 16 points and Carolina Day made history for Western North Carolina girls basketball with a 58-55 win over Northside Christian Academy in Saturday morning's NCISAA 2-A championship game.
Mikayla Ray added 11 points, while Ralene Kwiatkowski and Cheyenne Bunner contributed 10 apiece.
By hoisting their fifth consecutive NCISAA 2-A title inside Asheville School's Carter Gym, the Wildcats (22-6) became the first WNC girls program to win seven state championships.
They previously shared the record with Hayesville, which had a six-year run in NCHSAA 1-A basketball from 1988 to 1993. Asheville High's girls have won four state championships.
Carolina Day has been coached since 2010 by Joe Carrington and began its five-year streak of conference championships in 2011, the last year that the NCISAA tournament was in the Asheville area. All of the state championship games are being played Saturday at Asheville School.
The first two state championships for the Wildcats occurred in 1995 and 1996 at the NCISAA 1-A level under former coach Jack Warren.
Harris is a junior from Madison County who led their year's Carolina Day team in scoring with 15.7 points per game, followed by Kwiatkowski (12.7 ppg.), who is a sophomore from Buncombe County.
The Wildcats will only lose two seniors to graduation. Bunner has been selected to play in next month's North Carolina/South Carolina private school all-star game. Abigail Ward, who is from Henderson County, has committed to play lacrosse at West Point.
More on Saturday's championship game from correspondent Tyler Norris Goode:
ASHEVILLE After battling all morning to get some separation from gritty Northside Christian, Carolina Day School's girls finally stood alone at the postgame trophy celebration all alone.
The Wildcats made just enough free throws down the stretch of the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association's 2-A title game to put away Northside's Knights 58-55, and become the first Western North Carolina girls basketball team to win a seventh state championship.
"It is just a testament to the kids and all the work they've done," said sixth-year CDS coach Joe Carrington. "We've got a great group of kids, and they played with heart today. They buy into what we direct them to do. This is their championship."
CDS junior Tess Harris led all scorers with 17 points, and Mikayla Ray added 11 for the Wildcats (22-6) as they won their fifth straight title. CDS also won state championships in 1995 and 1996.
"We had a chance to do something no other team has done before," said CDS senior Cheyenne Bunner, who added 10 points. "It's incredible I can't even think right now."
Making its first title-game appearance, Northside Christian (26-4) certainly didn't make it easy for the Wildcats. The young Knights, who had one senior (Shannon Vickers), lost a starter before the tip when junior Kylee Calabrese injured an ankle in pregame warmups and had to be carried off the court.
"My team plays hard," Northside coach Ashley McGuirt said. "We practice hard, and it carried over to the game. For 32 minutes, we didn't quit. We played a complete game, and we were there for each other. I'm very proud of them It's motivation for next year."
Led by eighth-grader Christina McLean and sophomore Eleah Parker (14 points apiece), the Knights erased deficits of seven and 11 points and briefly took the lead on McLean's 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:12 left in the third period.
After Bunner hit a free throw to knot the score, Harris closed out the quarter with a steal and layup that put Carolina Day ahead for good.
"It's like we have a big bulls-eye on our chest, and it gets harder and harder every year," Harris said. "But this one's more special because it filled up Joe's first hand (with five rings). Now it's time to start on the other one."
Indeed, Carolina Day returns four starters and several key players off the bench. The Wildcats' other seniors this season were Hannah Draddy and Abigail Ward.
Starting sophomores Ralene Kwiatkowski (10 points) and Casey Yarborough (six points) and starting freshman Emily Crawford (four points) all made key contributions in the championship game.
"I definitely think they'll keep going strong here," Bunner said. "This is a great program, and we've got a lot of young players coming up. They're going to get older, and they're going to get stronger, and I think they'll continue to win."