Warriors blast Cary Christian, 64-37
Fayetteville Christian girls will play Forsyth Country Day in semifinal
By Patrick Obley FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Correspondent
The Fayetteville Christian girls earned their No. 1 seed in the NCISAA Class 3A basketball playoffs by displaying a particular set of skills.
Through one quarter of Saturday night’s quarterfinal duel with Cary Christian, none of them had materialized. By halftime, there was cause for concern.
“I hate having games when we don’t have school,” Warriors coach Don Gardner said. “You never know what the kids have been doing throughout the day before the game.”
Better late than never.
Behind a dominant third quarter and a return to that which defines them, the Warriors blasted the Knights 64-37 to advance to Friday’s semifinal, where they will meet No. 5 Forsyth Country Day, a 41-30 winner against No. 4 Hickory Grove Christian.
Monet Oliver poured in half of her 16 points during the decisive third quarter to turn a 28-23 halftime lead into a 47-33 bulge. In the process, Fayetteville Christian snapped out of their offensive doldrums by focusing on every other aspect of the game.
“We did come out a little sluggish at first; we just had to get a wakeup call,” Oliver said. “We just started picking the intensity up. Getting back, hustle plays, diving on the ground, all that counts. We know that all counts at the end.”
Fayetteville Christian (26-1) had forced 15 turnovers in the first half but had little to show for it after getting outrebounded by the Knights. In the second half, the Warriors ripped back their rebounding edge behind Iyania Evans and Lillie Robinson while Taylor Bethea choked off Cary Christian passing lanes and forced multiple bad decisions.
The Warriors’ trapping defense wore down the Knights, whose shots began to fall short. Cary Christian (16-9) failed to make a basket from the field after the 1:15 mark of the third quarter.
“(Cary Christian is) an awesome team, very well-coached, but our adjustment was simply talking to them and getting them to understand to go hard or go home,” Gardner said. “It’s the playoffs.”
Oliver had plenty of support on offense by game’s end. Fellow team captain Noni Russell and Claire Burke each added 13 points. Robinson had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Evans added 7 points and plucked 6 of her 8 rebounds in the fourth quarter, which was a big reason why the Knights didn’t score from the field in the period.
“Everything counts” Oliver said. “Some people think just scoring counts, but hustle plays, steals, getting rebounds, defense, all that counts.”
Shelby Woods led Cary Christian with a game-high 19 points. No other Knight scored more than 6.
The Warriors are now in uncharted territory, surpassing the furthest point reached by last year’s team. Their motto of “Unfinished Business” won’t allow them to rest on their laurels, said Oliver.
“This game we lost last year. We just wanted to get it back,” she said. “That really motivated us. This is our year, though, so that’s what we’re putting in our minds. Every game is a new game.”
Fayetteville Christian girls will play Forsyth Country Day in semifinal
By Patrick Obley FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Correspondent
The Fayetteville Christian girls earned their No. 1 seed in the NCISAA Class 3A basketball playoffs by displaying a particular set of skills.
Through one quarter of Saturday night’s quarterfinal duel with Cary Christian, none of them had materialized. By halftime, there was cause for concern.
“I hate having games when we don’t have school,” Warriors coach Don Gardner said. “You never know what the kids have been doing throughout the day before the game.”
Better late than never.
Behind a dominant third quarter and a return to that which defines them, the Warriors blasted the Knights 64-37 to advance to Friday’s semifinal, where they will meet No. 5 Forsyth Country Day, a 41-30 winner against No. 4 Hickory Grove Christian.
Monet Oliver poured in half of her 16 points during the decisive third quarter to turn a 28-23 halftime lead into a 47-33 bulge. In the process, Fayetteville Christian snapped out of their offensive doldrums by focusing on every other aspect of the game.
“We did come out a little sluggish at first; we just had to get a wakeup call,” Oliver said. “We just started picking the intensity up. Getting back, hustle plays, diving on the ground, all that counts. We know that all counts at the end.”
Fayetteville Christian (26-1) had forced 15 turnovers in the first half but had little to show for it after getting outrebounded by the Knights. In the second half, the Warriors ripped back their rebounding edge behind Iyania Evans and Lillie Robinson while Taylor Bethea choked off Cary Christian passing lanes and forced multiple bad decisions.
The Warriors’ trapping defense wore down the Knights, whose shots began to fall short. Cary Christian (16-9) failed to make a basket from the field after the 1:15 mark of the third quarter.
“(Cary Christian is) an awesome team, very well-coached, but our adjustment was simply talking to them and getting them to understand to go hard or go home,” Gardner said. “It’s the playoffs.”
Oliver had plenty of support on offense by game’s end. Fellow team captain Noni Russell and Claire Burke each added 13 points. Robinson had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Evans added 7 points and plucked 6 of her 8 rebounds in the fourth quarter, which was a big reason why the Knights didn’t score from the field in the period.
“Everything counts” Oliver said. “Some people think just scoring counts, but hustle plays, steals, getting rebounds, defense, all that counts.”
Shelby Woods led Cary Christian with a game-high 19 points. No other Knight scored more than 6.
The Warriors are now in uncharted territory, surpassing the furthest point reached by last year’s team. Their motto of “Unfinished Business” won’t allow them to rest on their laurels, said Oliver.
“This game we lost last year. We just wanted to get it back,” she said. “That really motivated us. This is our year, though, so that’s what we’re putting in our minds. Every game is a new game.”
