Big third quarter pushes South Pointe past First Assembly at Best of Best tournament
By Tim Donelli
The Concord First Assembly Eagles and Rock Hill South Pointe Stallions kicked off the 2019 LBI Girls’ Basketball Best of Carolina Holiday Classic on Saturday afternoon at Hickory Ridge High School.
After trailing for most of the first half, South Pointe went on a 12-3 run to start the third quarter and never trailed again in a 61-52 victory over Concord First Assembly.
What changed in the second half for South Pointe?
“At halftime we had to talk it over because we had a slow start,” Stallions guard Trinity Adams said. “We talked it over and decided that we needed to come out with better energy than we started with.”
The talk worked as the Stallions outscored the Eagles 20-11 in the third quarter. Randi Neal led the third-quarter charge for South Pointe with eight points in the stanza while finishing the game with 11. Adams led all scorers with 19 points and had four points in the Stallions’ 20-point third quarter.
South Pointe didn’t grab its first lead until five seconds remained in the first half. The Stallions’ Najah Lane nailed a 3-pointer in the finals seconds of the half to lead 27-25 at the break.
Leading by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, Concord First Assembly cut the South Pointe lead to seven points three times. But each time the Stallions answered with a bucket to get the lead back up to nine.
“I’d rather have stops than points in that situation,” South Pointe coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the points, but my preference in that situation would be stops.”
The Eagles’ Zykia Benjamin tried to bring Concord First Assembly back with six fourth-quarter points, while finishing with 12. Jael Hall led the Eagles with 18 points.
THREE WHO MATTERED:
Trinity Adams, South Pointe: The junior guard balanced her game-high 19 points with nine in the first half and 10 in the second half.
Jael Hall, Concord First Assembly: The junior guard led the Eagles with 18 points and kept her team within striking distance with 11 second-half points.
Randi Neal, South Pointe: The senior forward scored eight of her 11 points in the decisive third quarter when the Stallions built their lead to nine points.
WORTH MENTIONING:
THEY SAID IT: “I am very happy with the field for this year. We have a lot of local talent including Butler, Cuthbertson, Hickory Ridge, Ardrey Kell and South Meck, which has been playing great the last couple of weeks. We have a few teams from out of town including South Pointe from Rock Hill, Wilson from Florence, South Carolina, and Legacy Early College from Greenville, South Carolina.” Best of Carolina Holiday Classic tournament director Percy Wright in sizing up this year’s tournament field.
RECORDS: South Pointe (4-0); Concord First Assembly (7-2).
By Tim Donelli
The Concord First Assembly Eagles and Rock Hill South Pointe Stallions kicked off the 2019 LBI Girls’ Basketball Best of Carolina Holiday Classic on Saturday afternoon at Hickory Ridge High School.
After trailing for most of the first half, South Pointe went on a 12-3 run to start the third quarter and never trailed again in a 61-52 victory over Concord First Assembly.
What changed in the second half for South Pointe?
“At halftime we had to talk it over because we had a slow start,” Stallions guard Trinity Adams said. “We talked it over and decided that we needed to come out with better energy than we started with.”
The talk worked as the Stallions outscored the Eagles 20-11 in the third quarter. Randi Neal led the third-quarter charge for South Pointe with eight points in the stanza while finishing the game with 11. Adams led all scorers with 19 points and had four points in the Stallions’ 20-point third quarter.
South Pointe didn’t grab its first lead until five seconds remained in the first half. The Stallions’ Najah Lane nailed a 3-pointer in the finals seconds of the half to lead 27-25 at the break.
Leading by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, Concord First Assembly cut the South Pointe lead to seven points three times. But each time the Stallions answered with a bucket to get the lead back up to nine.
“I’d rather have stops than points in that situation,” South Pointe coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the points, but my preference in that situation would be stops.”
The Eagles’ Zykia Benjamin tried to bring Concord First Assembly back with six fourth-quarter points, while finishing with 12. Jael Hall led the Eagles with 18 points.
THREE WHO MATTERED:
Trinity Adams, South Pointe: The junior guard balanced her game-high 19 points with nine in the first half and 10 in the second half.
Jael Hall, Concord First Assembly: The junior guard led the Eagles with 18 points and kept her team within striking distance with 11 second-half points.
Randi Neal, South Pointe: The senior forward scored eight of her 11 points in the decisive third quarter when the Stallions built their lead to nine points.
WORTH MENTIONING:
- Concord First Assembly’s loss Saturday snapped the Eagles’ six-game winning streak.
- South Pointe’s victory was its fourth straight to open the season.
- The Eagles didn’t start their season until Dec. 2, while most Charlotte area schools started their seasons in mid-November.
- Saturday’s game was a back-to-back and the second game in less than 24 hours for South Pointe. The Stallions played Friday night, defeating Rock Hill on the road, 55-38.
THEY SAID IT: “I am very happy with the field for this year. We have a lot of local talent including Butler, Cuthbertson, Hickory Ridge, Ardrey Kell and South Meck, which has been playing great the last couple of weeks. We have a few teams from out of town including South Pointe from Rock Hill, Wilson from Florence, South Carolina, and Legacy Early College from Greenville, South Carolina.” Best of Carolina Holiday Classic tournament director Percy Wright in sizing up this year’s tournament field.
RECORDS: South Pointe (4-0); Concord First Assembly (7-2).
