Warriors rout Raleigh Grace, 58-18
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer
The Fayetteville Christian girls’ basketball team looks the part of a championship team through five games this season.
The Warriors have won four of their first five contests by an average of 42 points, earning a 58-18 win against Raleigh Grace Christian on Tuesday to remain unbeaten on the season.
Everything is geared toward making it back to the NCISAA 3-A state championship. After sweeping the Sandhills titles last season, the Warriors lost 51-38 to Forsyth Country Day in the state title game to finish with a 28-2 record.
Off to a 5-0 start, this Warrior team has a different dynamic without all-state performer Claire Burke. But it still has another all-state performer in Noni Russell to lead a talented roster.
“Claire decided not to play this year and that’s fine, we support it,” said Don Gardner, who is in his 11th season with the program.
“We just had to overcome that obstacle. No matter who’s here, we still gotta compete.”
Gardner, who led the Trinity Christian girls’ program to an NCISAA 1-A championship in 2008 before taking over at Fayetteville Christian, said his latest group is learning to “compete, compete, compete every night.”
“We’ve been having some really good practices,” he said. “We have to get back to pushing the ball and controlling the game.”
The Warriors did both of those things on Tuesday, leading by as many as 41 points in the second half and holding the Eagles (2-7) scoreless in the third quarter.
“We ran the lanes out in the secondary (break) well,” Gardner said.
“Defensively, we were excited — we were bouncy. We just played with a lot of energy.”
Sophomore Le’Asia Matthews scored a game-high 13 points to lead three Fayetteville Christian players in double figures. Russell scored 12 points, including nine in the first half, and junior Jada Brown added 10. Leading by seven points after the first quarter, the Warriors closed the first half with a 23-7 extended run to widen the margin.
Russell, who drained a pair of 3-pointers, beat the second-quarter buzzer with a deep trey to give the Warriors a 36-13 lead at halftime. “We’re moving the ball a lot, talking on defense and keeping the intensity,” said Matthews, who scored 11 of her points in the first 16 minutes.
“We were having fun on the court.”
The Warriors will look to keep the fun going when they travel to Kinston on Thursday to face Arendell Parrott Academy.
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer
The Fayetteville Christian girls’ basketball team looks the part of a championship team through five games this season.
The Warriors have won four of their first five contests by an average of 42 points, earning a 58-18 win against Raleigh Grace Christian on Tuesday to remain unbeaten on the season.
Everything is geared toward making it back to the NCISAA 3-A state championship. After sweeping the Sandhills titles last season, the Warriors lost 51-38 to Forsyth Country Day in the state title game to finish with a 28-2 record.
Off to a 5-0 start, this Warrior team has a different dynamic without all-state performer Claire Burke. But it still has another all-state performer in Noni Russell to lead a talented roster.
“Claire decided not to play this year and that’s fine, we support it,” said Don Gardner, who is in his 11th season with the program.
“We just had to overcome that obstacle. No matter who’s here, we still gotta compete.”
Gardner, who led the Trinity Christian girls’ program to an NCISAA 1-A championship in 2008 before taking over at Fayetteville Christian, said his latest group is learning to “compete, compete, compete every night.”
“We’ve been having some really good practices,” he said. “We have to get back to pushing the ball and controlling the game.”
The Warriors did both of those things on Tuesday, leading by as many as 41 points in the second half and holding the Eagles (2-7) scoreless in the third quarter.
“We ran the lanes out in the secondary (break) well,” Gardner said.
“Defensively, we were excited — we were bouncy. We just played with a lot of energy.”
Sophomore Le’Asia Matthews scored a game-high 13 points to lead three Fayetteville Christian players in double figures. Russell scored 12 points, including nine in the first half, and junior Jada Brown added 10. Leading by seven points after the first quarter, the Warriors closed the first half with a 23-7 extended run to widen the margin.
Russell, who drained a pair of 3-pointers, beat the second-quarter buzzer with a deep trey to give the Warriors a 36-13 lead at halftime. “We’re moving the ball a lot, talking on defense and keeping the intensity,” said Matthews, who scored 11 of her points in the first 16 minutes.
“We were having fun on the court.”
The Warriors will look to keep the fun going when they travel to Kinston on Thursday to face Arendell Parrott Academy.
