Cannon just misses NCISAA Final Four with loss to Providence Day
CONCORD – With Cannon School’s private-school 4A state playoff quarterfinal game against Providence Day in the balance, everyone in Boswell Gym knew that the Cougars’ Reigan Richardson was going to have the ball in her hands in the final seconds.
Coming out of Cannon’s second timeout in fewer than 10 seconds and down by a point, Richardson received an inbounds pass just beyond the top of the 3-point arc with 4.7 seconds left. Heavily guarded, Richardson took a couple dribbles to her right and saw teammate Zoe Edwards open in the corner.
With enough time to line up a decent shot, Edwards’ 3-point attempt hit the short side of the rim, bounced straight up, and descended off its mark as time expired.
It left the Chargers – a Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association rival of the Cougars - with a 48-47 victory and a berth to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Final Four.
The Cream of Cabarrus fourth-ranked Cougar, who were seeded fourth in the 16-team playoff bracket, finished with a 15-8 record, a tremendous improvement over last year’s 4-15 mark.
“We fought from the beginning, but we had a rough ending,” said Richardson, who finished with team-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds. “You know, we really wanted this. The team executed very well. But (Providence Day) is a great team …”
Richardson is very much a part of Cannon’s turnaround, as is Edwards, who scored seven of her 10 points in the second half. Both transferred in to Cannon this season from other schools.
“Reigan, being an all-time great player from North Carolina, in my opinion, made a great decision passing to an open teammate,” said Cannon coach Kelvin Drakeford. “It just shows how unselfish she is and how much trust and faith she has in her teammates, even though this is her first year over here.”
It was the final game for Cannon seniors Sane Davis and Caroline Livingston. The rest of the Cougars’ roster is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, including Richardson, Edwards, and Sydney Wood, who scored nine of her 11 points on three 3-pointers in the first quarter.
With the help of eight points from Richardson, Cannon opened a 17-7 first-quarter lead. Providence Day didn’t score until the 3:44 mark and grabbed its first rebound in the closing minutes.
Cannon held an 11-3 rebounding edge over the first two periods. But all of those trends that helped the Cougars to a 29-20 halftime lead reversed themselves in the second half. The teams both ended the game with 20 rebounds.
Providence Day (19-11), seeded fifth, opened the third quarter with an 11-3 run. Cannon’s eventual answer was back-to-back steals by Richardson and Edwards, both which resulted in coast-to-coast layups.
The Chargers fed junior forward Morgan Kelson around the basket more as the game progressed. She scored 12 of her 17 points after halftime and racked up Providence Day’s first nine points of the fourth quarter as it took its first lead of the game with 2 minutes, 54 seconds remaining.
“Morgan’s been huge for us all year,” said wining coach Josh Springer. “She leads our team in scoring and rebounding. And today she did a nice job inside finishing one-on-one.”
4A Girls--Providence Day Nips Cannon
CONCORD – With Cannon School’s private-school 4A state playoff quarterfinal game against Providence Day in the balance, everyone in Boswell Gym knew that the Cougars’ Reigan Richardson was going to have the ball in her hands in the final seconds.
Coming out of Cannon’s second timeout in fewer than 10 seconds and down by a point, Richardson received an inbounds pass just beyond the top of the 3-point arc with 4.7 seconds left. Heavily guarded, Richardson took a couple dribbles to her right and saw teammate Zoe Edwards open in the corner.
With enough time to line up a decent shot, Edwards’ 3-point attempt hit the short side of the rim, bounced straight up, and descended off its mark as time expired.
It left the Chargers – a Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association rival of the Cougars - with a 48-47 victory and a berth to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Final Four.
The Cream of Cabarrus fourth-ranked Cougar, who were seeded fourth in the 16-team playoff bracket, finished with a 15-8 record, a tremendous improvement over last year’s 4-15 mark.
“We fought from the beginning, but we had a rough ending,” said Richardson, who finished with team-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds. “You know, we really wanted this. The team executed very well. But (Providence Day) is a great team …”
Richardson is very much a part of Cannon’s turnaround, as is Edwards, who scored seven of her 10 points in the second half. Both transferred in to Cannon this season from other schools.
“Reigan, being an all-time great player from North Carolina, in my opinion, made a great decision passing to an open teammate,” said Cannon coach Kelvin Drakeford. “It just shows how unselfish she is and how much trust and faith she has in her teammates, even though this is her first year over here.”
It was the final game for Cannon seniors Sane Davis and Caroline Livingston. The rest of the Cougars’ roster is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, including Richardson, Edwards, and Sydney Wood, who scored nine of her 11 points on three 3-pointers in the first quarter.
With the help of eight points from Richardson, Cannon opened a 17-7 first-quarter lead. Providence Day didn’t score until the 3:44 mark and grabbed its first rebound in the closing minutes.
Cannon held an 11-3 rebounding edge over the first two periods. But all of those trends that helped the Cougars to a 29-20 halftime lead reversed themselves in the second half. The teams both ended the game with 20 rebounds.
Providence Day (19-11), seeded fifth, opened the third quarter with an 11-3 run. Cannon’s eventual answer was back-to-back steals by Richardson and Edwards, both which resulted in coast-to-coast layups.
The Chargers fed junior forward Morgan Kelson around the basket more as the game progressed. She scored 12 of her 17 points after halftime and racked up Providence Day’s first nine points of the fourth quarter as it took its first lead of the game with 2 minutes, 54 seconds remaining.
“Morgan’s been huge for us all year,” said wining coach Josh Springer. “She leads our team in scoring and rebounding. And today she did a nice job inside finishing one-on-one.”
4A Girls--Providence Day Nips Cannon
