Cannon makes history by winning program’s first state championship
JOE HABINA Special to the Independent Tribune
CONCORD – Maybe you’d expect the sigh-of-relief moment of a double-digit victory to come much earlier than in the last 65 seconds, but this was no ordinary game for the Cannon School girls basketball team.
Playing in the N.C. Independent School Athletic Association 4A state championship game on the Cougars’ home floor Saturday, an inspired North Raleigh Christian Academy squad would not grant Cannon any level of comfort, relief, or satisfaction until the game’s final minute.
Not until the Cougars’ Sydney Wood drilled a fist pump-inducing 3-pointer with 1 minute, 5 seconds remaining and added another for good measure 26 seconds later did Cannon School’s 53-39 triumph feel safe.
What it also secured was the program’s first state championship.
“(I’m) excited as all get-out,” said winning coach Kelvin Drakeford minutes after draping around his neck the championship net he helped cut down. “We expected it, but it’s a great feeling I have. Especially starting out my first year (2017-18) being 4-15 and three years later winning a state championship.
“(Wood) put a dagger (in NRCA),” Drakeford added. “For her to catch her stride and feel good in this game was huge. She had some games where she was off. But this game, the first one she shot and the second one she shot (both in the first quarter) went in, and I’m like ‘They’re in for a long night.’”
Wood, a senior guard who finished with four 3-pointers for 12 total points, scored six of Cannon School’s first nine points, then scored its final six. In between was a hard fought, nip-and-tuck contest which had the Cougars vulnerable at certain points.
Led by 6-foot-3 junior Imani Lester and sophomore point guard Madison Mims, who is more than a foot shorter than her towering teammate, NRCA’s defensive effort frustrated Cannon School in the first half, including the Cougars’ McDonald’s All-American guard, Reigan Richardson.
Lester scored half of NRCA’s 22 first-half points and helped the Knights outrebound Cannon School over the first two quarters by an 11-5 margin. NRCA – coached by Avie Lester, a former N.C. State standout and Imani Lester’s father – interchanged man-to-man and zone defenses against the Cougars with Mims and fellow guard Maddy Powell trapping Cannon School ball-handlers near midcourt.
The Cougars committed 14 turnovers in the first half, including five on steals by Mims. Cannon School also missed all five of its free throw attempts before halftime.
“We know (Richardson’s) a good player,” said Avie Lester. “So what we want to do is just have bodies in front of her. We were able to really do that in the first half. But our two starting guards got in foul trouble (in the second half), and we couldn’t do the same type of pressure.”
Said starting point guard Zoe Edwards, one of eight Cannon School seniors: “It was tough because I was just getting frustrated. I kept getting (the ball) stolen and wasn’t getting calls. (Cannon assistant) coach (Ashley Rivens) told me to keep leaning into (Mims) and eventually we’d figure it out. I could get off the ball and get my teammates involved.”
Another problem for Cannon School was Richardson’s foul trouble. She picked up her third foul at the second quarter’s 4:25 mark and missed most of the rest of the first half. The Cougars managed only two points without her – an Anna Galloway jumper from the free throw line – and fell behind 22-19 at halftime.
Some of the first half’s trends, including Cannon School’s defensive tactics, reversed themselves after halftime. Led by freshman forward Seini Hicks, the Cougars forced Imani Lester out of her comfort zone in the lane and out toward the 3-point arc. In the second half, Lester took more shots from outside the paint than inside and scored just five more points to finish with a team-high 16.
Hicks, who finished with seven points and six rebounds, offered this explanation of her team’s second-half defensive strategy against Lester:
“Just keep on pressuring her. Just get in her head; she’s a very mental player. As long as we get in her head, we’re good. When we’re at the post, just keep pressuring her, keep a body on her, not spacing her out,” Hicks said.
Led by Hicks, Richardson, and Jamyrah Cherry, Cannon School also outrebounded NRCA in the second half, 19-7. But what was most important for the Cougars after halftime was that Richardson got hot offensively.
Aided by ball screens from the likes of Hicks and Galloway, Richardson was able to maneuver much more freely in the halfcourt game. Being freed up for 3-pointers and drives to the basket, Richardson scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter.
When the Knights shifted their double-teams to focus just on Richardson, the University of Georgia signee regularly found the open teammate. All four of her assists came in the second half.
Although Cannon School carried a 39-31 edge into the fourth quarter, the outcome was far from decided. A Mims’ layup, two free throws from Lester, and a floater by Emma Finster closed the Knights’ gap to 39-37 with 4:32 left in the game.
“My mind went to being solid on defense,” said Drakeford. “It’s a game of runs and we’ve been preaching all year that if we can’t score we’ve got to be good on defense. Our offense is going to come, but we have to be good defensively.”
But Cannon School scored in bunches over the final four minutes. Edwards drilled a 3 from the right corner, Richardson completed a traditional three-point play, Hicks was wide open for a layup, and Woods connected on her two 3-pointers to complete a 14-2 run to close the game.
Afterward, Richardson, who scored her 2,000th career point earlier in the week, reflected on her three years at Cannon School.
“I’ve been here since sophomore year, and it’s been a great experience,” she said. “I’m going to miss everyone here: my seniors, my teammates, the teachers, the coaching staff, everybody.”
SCORING SUMMARY
North Raleigh 10 12 9 8 – 39
Cannon School 13 6 20 14 –53
NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY – Mims 8, Emma Finster 11, Harris 4, Imani Lester 16.
CANNON SCHOOL – Hicks 7, Reigan Richardson 24, Cherry 2, Z. Edwards 6, Sydney Wood 12, Galloway 2
JOE HABINA Special to the Independent Tribune
CONCORD – Maybe you’d expect the sigh-of-relief moment of a double-digit victory to come much earlier than in the last 65 seconds, but this was no ordinary game for the Cannon School girls basketball team.
Playing in the N.C. Independent School Athletic Association 4A state championship game on the Cougars’ home floor Saturday, an inspired North Raleigh Christian Academy squad would not grant Cannon any level of comfort, relief, or satisfaction until the game’s final minute.
Not until the Cougars’ Sydney Wood drilled a fist pump-inducing 3-pointer with 1 minute, 5 seconds remaining and added another for good measure 26 seconds later did Cannon School’s 53-39 triumph feel safe.
What it also secured was the program’s first state championship.
“(I’m) excited as all get-out,” said winning coach Kelvin Drakeford minutes after draping around his neck the championship net he helped cut down. “We expected it, but it’s a great feeling I have. Especially starting out my first year (2017-18) being 4-15 and three years later winning a state championship.
“(Wood) put a dagger (in NRCA),” Drakeford added. “For her to catch her stride and feel good in this game was huge. She had some games where she was off. But this game, the first one she shot and the second one she shot (both in the first quarter) went in, and I’m like ‘They’re in for a long night.’”
Wood, a senior guard who finished with four 3-pointers for 12 total points, scored six of Cannon School’s first nine points, then scored its final six. In between was a hard fought, nip-and-tuck contest which had the Cougars vulnerable at certain points.
Led by 6-foot-3 junior Imani Lester and sophomore point guard Madison Mims, who is more than a foot shorter than her towering teammate, NRCA’s defensive effort frustrated Cannon School in the first half, including the Cougars’ McDonald’s All-American guard, Reigan Richardson.
Lester scored half of NRCA’s 22 first-half points and helped the Knights outrebound Cannon School over the first two quarters by an 11-5 margin. NRCA – coached by Avie Lester, a former N.C. State standout and Imani Lester’s father – interchanged man-to-man and zone defenses against the Cougars with Mims and fellow guard Maddy Powell trapping Cannon School ball-handlers near midcourt.
The Cougars committed 14 turnovers in the first half, including five on steals by Mims. Cannon School also missed all five of its free throw attempts before halftime.
“We know (Richardson’s) a good player,” said Avie Lester. “So what we want to do is just have bodies in front of her. We were able to really do that in the first half. But our two starting guards got in foul trouble (in the second half), and we couldn’t do the same type of pressure.”
Said starting point guard Zoe Edwards, one of eight Cannon School seniors: “It was tough because I was just getting frustrated. I kept getting (the ball) stolen and wasn’t getting calls. (Cannon assistant) coach (Ashley Rivens) told me to keep leaning into (Mims) and eventually we’d figure it out. I could get off the ball and get my teammates involved.”
Another problem for Cannon School was Richardson’s foul trouble. She picked up her third foul at the second quarter’s 4:25 mark and missed most of the rest of the first half. The Cougars managed only two points without her – an Anna Galloway jumper from the free throw line – and fell behind 22-19 at halftime.
Some of the first half’s trends, including Cannon School’s defensive tactics, reversed themselves after halftime. Led by freshman forward Seini Hicks, the Cougars forced Imani Lester out of her comfort zone in the lane and out toward the 3-point arc. In the second half, Lester took more shots from outside the paint than inside and scored just five more points to finish with a team-high 16.
Hicks, who finished with seven points and six rebounds, offered this explanation of her team’s second-half defensive strategy against Lester:
“Just keep on pressuring her. Just get in her head; she’s a very mental player. As long as we get in her head, we’re good. When we’re at the post, just keep pressuring her, keep a body on her, not spacing her out,” Hicks said.
Led by Hicks, Richardson, and Jamyrah Cherry, Cannon School also outrebounded NRCA in the second half, 19-7. But what was most important for the Cougars after halftime was that Richardson got hot offensively.
Aided by ball screens from the likes of Hicks and Galloway, Richardson was able to maneuver much more freely in the halfcourt game. Being freed up for 3-pointers and drives to the basket, Richardson scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter.
When the Knights shifted their double-teams to focus just on Richardson, the University of Georgia signee regularly found the open teammate. All four of her assists came in the second half.
Although Cannon School carried a 39-31 edge into the fourth quarter, the outcome was far from decided. A Mims’ layup, two free throws from Lester, and a floater by Emma Finster closed the Knights’ gap to 39-37 with 4:32 left in the game.
“My mind went to being solid on defense,” said Drakeford. “It’s a game of runs and we’ve been preaching all year that if we can’t score we’ve got to be good on defense. Our offense is going to come, but we have to be good defensively.”
But Cannon School scored in bunches over the final four minutes. Edwards drilled a 3 from the right corner, Richardson completed a traditional three-point play, Hicks was wide open for a layup, and Woods connected on her two 3-pointers to complete a 14-2 run to close the game.
Afterward, Richardson, who scored her 2,000th career point earlier in the week, reflected on her three years at Cannon School.
“I’ve been here since sophomore year, and it’s been a great experience,” she said. “I’m going to miss everyone here: my seniors, my teammates, the teachers, the coaching staff, everybody.”
SCORING SUMMARY
North Raleigh 10 12 9 8 – 39
Cannon School 13 6 20 14 –53
NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY – Mims 8, Emma Finster 11, Harris 4, Imani Lester 16.
CANNON SCHOOL – Hicks 7, Reigan Richardson 24, Cherry 2, Z. Edwards 6, Sydney Wood 12, Galloway 2
