McMillan lifts cfa Academy past St. David's and into state semifinals
CONCORD - Points were hard to come by in Saturday’s NCISAA 3A girls quarterfinal matchup between cfa Academy and St. David’s of Raleigh.
Unless your name was Jada McMillan.
McMillan scored 21 of her game-high 26 points to lead the Eagles past the Warriors, 49-37, and advance to next Friday’s semifinals at Raleigh Ravenscroft School.
McMillan, who was the only player on either team to score more than 10 points, continues her impressive scoring burst of late, as she’s averaging 27.3 points per game over her last three games.
“In the last three games, she’s really stepped up,” cfa coach Bill Middlebrooks said. “The girls knew to find Jada.”
The Eagles needed every one of her points, because it seemed the rest of the team was unable to get anything going offensively. After scoring just six points in the first quarter, cfa found itself behind for the majority of the first half. Only a 7-1 run over the final three minutes of the first half allowed the Eagles to head into the locker room with a lead, 18-13.
It appeared as if cfa was ready to pull away in the second half, leading by as many as 10 points in the third quarter. But the Warriors (14-9) fought back late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, and nearly put the hosts out of the tournament.
St. David’s went on a 13-4 second-half run that closed a 10-point deficit to just one point, 35-34, with more than four minutes to play.
“I told the girls in the huddle (St. David’s) was going to make a run,” Middlebrooks said. “They didn’t panic. They kept it together.”
The game-changing basket, as it turned out, did not come from McMillan but rather from senior sharpshooter Bailey Stinson. Held scoreless for the first 3½ quarters, Stinson took a pass from McMillan and drained a corner 3-pointer that put the Eagles up 39-34 and was the first basket in a closing 14-3 run.
It was the only 3-pointer of the game for the Eagles.
“That was a back-breaker,” Middlebrooks said of the timely shot. “Bailey has been a terrific shooter for us all year long.”
The victory, the 12th in a row for the Eagles, improved their record to 21-6 on the season. They will face the winner of Cape Fear-Village Christian Academy in the 3A semifinals on Friday.
CONCORD - Points were hard to come by in Saturday’s NCISAA 3A girls quarterfinal matchup between cfa Academy and St. David’s of Raleigh.
Unless your name was Jada McMillan.
McMillan scored 21 of her game-high 26 points to lead the Eagles past the Warriors, 49-37, and advance to next Friday’s semifinals at Raleigh Ravenscroft School.
McMillan, who was the only player on either team to score more than 10 points, continues her impressive scoring burst of late, as she’s averaging 27.3 points per game over her last three games.
“In the last three games, she’s really stepped up,” cfa coach Bill Middlebrooks said. “The girls knew to find Jada.”
The Eagles needed every one of her points, because it seemed the rest of the team was unable to get anything going offensively. After scoring just six points in the first quarter, cfa found itself behind for the majority of the first half. Only a 7-1 run over the final three minutes of the first half allowed the Eagles to head into the locker room with a lead, 18-13.
It appeared as if cfa was ready to pull away in the second half, leading by as many as 10 points in the third quarter. But the Warriors (14-9) fought back late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, and nearly put the hosts out of the tournament.
St. David’s went on a 13-4 second-half run that closed a 10-point deficit to just one point, 35-34, with more than four minutes to play.
“I told the girls in the huddle (St. David’s) was going to make a run,” Middlebrooks said. “They didn’t panic. They kept it together.”
The game-changing basket, as it turned out, did not come from McMillan but rather from senior sharpshooter Bailey Stinson. Held scoreless for the first 3½ quarters, Stinson took a pass from McMillan and drained a corner 3-pointer that put the Eagles up 39-34 and was the first basket in a closing 14-3 run.
It was the only 3-pointer of the game for the Eagles.
“That was a back-breaker,” Middlebrooks said of the timely shot. “Bailey has been a terrific shooter for us all year long.”
The victory, the 12th in a row for the Eagles, improved their record to 21-6 on the season. They will face the winner of Cape Fear-Village Christian Academy in the 3A semifinals on Friday.
