HPCA girls eke out close win
• By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — High Point Christian’s girls finally got over the hump.
Nadiya Hairston hit a mid-range jumper with 15 seconds left and the Cougars held on defensively to beat Southern Durham 43-42 in the Battle of the State basketball invitational Saturday at TW Andrews.
Earlier in the day, in a meeting of two of the area’s traditional powers, Northern Guilford built a sizable lead early and fended off a late run to defeat TW Andrews’ girls 70-51.
“We went down for about five seconds,” HPCA coach Brittany Drew said. “And to hit a big shot — that was perfect. I think, for us, it’s just adversity. So, I’m glad to get this quality win.”
Hairston scored 15 points to lead the Cougars (9-9), who’ve struggled at times this season to win close games in a more challenging schedule. But none were bigger than her jumper in the closing seconds.
After the Spartans (8-4) erased a double-digit deficit to lead by one on a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left,
HPCA quickly got the ball upcourt. Hairston pulled up near the left elbow and drained the shot to give the Cougars back the lead.
“It feels great,” said Hairston, a junior guard. “We’ve been having trouble icing games. So, to finally finish a game with a dub is really good for us. I’m excited.’ ”
Southern Durham had one last opportunity following a timeout with 4.5 seconds left. It worked the ball along the left wing, looking for an opening. But it didn’t get off a shot until after the buzzer, sealing the win for the Cougars.
“I’ve been working on that shot all week in practice,” Hairston said. “So, I got past the girl and I was like,
‘We need this bucket right here.’ I saw the big girl down there, so I was like, ‘I can’t get a layup.’ I pulled up as close as I could and it went in.”
Angel Walker added nine points for HPCA, which trailed by 11 before scoring the final 13 points of the second quarter to lead 22-20 into halftime. It opened the third on an 11-3 run to lead by 10 with four minutes left in the quarter.
The Cougars open NCISAA Piedmont Triad Athletic Conference play Tuesday at crosstown rival Westchester Country Day.
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN GIRLS 43, SOUTHERN DURHAM 42
SD 15 5 11 11 — 42
HPCA 9 13 14 7 — 43
SOUTHERN DURHAM
Chloe Richmond 11, Briana Hughes 10, Sanders 9, Sutton 9, Christopher 3
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN
Nadiya Hairston 15, Walker 9, Powell 8, Limbacher 8, Krajisnik
NORTHERN GUILFORD GIRLS 70, TW ANDREWS 51
• By MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — High Point Christian’s girls finally got over the hump.
Nadiya Hairston hit a mid-range jumper with 15 seconds left and the Cougars held on defensively to beat Southern Durham 43-42 in the Battle of the State basketball invitational Saturday at TW Andrews.
Earlier in the day, in a meeting of two of the area’s traditional powers, Northern Guilford built a sizable lead early and fended off a late run to defeat TW Andrews’ girls 70-51.
“We went down for about five seconds,” HPCA coach Brittany Drew said. “And to hit a big shot — that was perfect. I think, for us, it’s just adversity. So, I’m glad to get this quality win.”
Hairston scored 15 points to lead the Cougars (9-9), who’ve struggled at times this season to win close games in a more challenging schedule. But none were bigger than her jumper in the closing seconds.
After the Spartans (8-4) erased a double-digit deficit to lead by one on a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left,
HPCA quickly got the ball upcourt. Hairston pulled up near the left elbow and drained the shot to give the Cougars back the lead.
“It feels great,” said Hairston, a junior guard. “We’ve been having trouble icing games. So, to finally finish a game with a dub is really good for us. I’m excited.’ ”
Southern Durham had one last opportunity following a timeout with 4.5 seconds left. It worked the ball along the left wing, looking for an opening. But it didn’t get off a shot until after the buzzer, sealing the win for the Cougars.
“I’ve been working on that shot all week in practice,” Hairston said. “So, I got past the girl and I was like,
‘We need this bucket right here.’ I saw the big girl down there, so I was like, ‘I can’t get a layup.’ I pulled up as close as I could and it went in.”
Angel Walker added nine points for HPCA, which trailed by 11 before scoring the final 13 points of the second quarter to lead 22-20 into halftime. It opened the third on an 11-3 run to lead by 10 with four minutes left in the quarter.
The Cougars open NCISAA Piedmont Triad Athletic Conference play Tuesday at crosstown rival Westchester Country Day.
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN GIRLS 43, SOUTHERN DURHAM 42
SD 15 5 11 11 — 42
HPCA 9 13 14 7 — 43
SOUTHERN DURHAM
Chloe Richmond 11, Briana Hughes 10, Sanders 9, Sutton 9, Christopher 3
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN
Nadiya Hairston 15, Walker 9, Powell 8, Limbacher 8, Krajisnik
NORTHERN GUILFORD GIRLS 70, TW ANDREWS 51
