Lady Chargers storm back for win over Greenfield
By Andrew Schnittker
aschnittker@wilsontimes.com | 252-265-7807 | Twitter: @aschnitt53
Wilson basketball fans who turned out to the Wilson Christian Academy gym Thursday night were treated to a thriller between two of the best high school girls basketball teams in the area in a 32-30 Wilson Christian win over Greenfield.
Jocelyn Bailey and Hailey Carnes led the Lady Chargers (9-2) with 10 points apiece. Serenity McNair led the Lady Knights (6-2) with 18 points.
The Lady Chargers were not able to run their offense effectively for most of the night, and finished just 1 for 18 from the 3-point line, but still found a way to win.
“We did a lot of things bad, and then in the end we gave ourselves a shot to win and we hit shots when it mattered,” said Wilson Christian head coach Brian Trull. “I’m really impressed with the resiliency of this team, because when things are not quite going the way we want them to, we don’t let them just bury us, we continue to fight. I think you saw that tonight.”
The Lady Knights led for most of the game, but could not make the key stops or shots down the stretch to finish the game.
“I think our legs got out on us,” said Greenfield head coach Bruce Wall. “We’ve been on a big run right here in a stretch of games and we’ve won a lot of those games with defense. Tonight, I don’t think we played as good defense, and I just really hate to see a game come down to less than 30 seconds and the kids can’t decide the game. That’s unfortunate sometimes, but that’s basketball. You’ve got to go with the punches and keep moving on. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Sophia Nesbit scored seven points for Wilson Christian, including the last four points to win the game.
“She’s willing to take those big shots,” Trull said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her. She’s not going to be flashy, she’s not going to score a ton of points, but when it matters, I think we want the ball in her hands.”
Greenfield led by seven points late in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Chargers finished the game red hot, ripping off a 9-0 run to steal a win.
“We changed the way we were defending,” Trull said. “When he decided to bring the ball out and have Serenity hold it out at the top, we made the decision to put a little more pressure and try to trap. So what that did is I think it forced them to play a little faster than they had in the first half. When they did find other people, they didn’t hit the shots. They found some other open people, which we knew that would happen, but we wanted to get it out of Serenity’s hands and not let her be the one that wound up beating us.”
With two minutes and change left to play and the Lady Chargers needing a big shot, Kate Hoskins obliged, knocking down a triple with 2:17 left to play to make it a four-point game at 30-26.
Wilson Christian then came up with a steal on the ensuing Greenfield possession, and Hoskins went to the line and knocked down a pair of shots to make it a two-point game with 1:49 left to play.
After another empty Greenfield possession, Wilson Christian worked the ball around before finally feeding it inside to Nesbit, who tied the game with under a minute left.
With things knotted at 30, a Lady Knights turnover gave the Lady Chargers possession with about 32 seconds left, and, with roughly 20 seconds left, Nesbit laid one in to give Wilson Christian its first lead since early in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t think I was going to be shooting,” Nesbit said. “I thought we were going to need a 3-pointer. But when they passed me the ball, there were no defenders on me, and it was close so I just put it up both times. Under pressure, you would think it would be a lot harder to shoot, which it is, but with all that adrenaline running, you just feel like you’ve got to put it up there to get it in.”
The Chargers came up with another stop with 4.5 seconds to play, but turned it over on the in-bounds pass with 3.8 seconds left. Greenfield could not find a buzzer beater, however, and the Lady Chargers held on for the comeback win.
After a low-scoring first quarter in which both teams played strong defense and neither could run its offense saw the Lady Knights take a 7-5 lead, Greenfield started to open things up in the second quarter.
The Lady Knights continued to stifle the Lady Chargers defensively, and hit three 3-pointers to extend their lead to 18-11 at halftime as they worked inside out to open up the long-range shots.
“I think we moved the ball better,” Wall said. “We got some good looks. We spaced them out more and I think we were just more active than were late in the game.”
The Lady Chargers began to inch back in the third quarter, with an 8-4 edge in the third frame to get within three going into the fourth quarter.
Wilson Christian did a better job guarding the perimeter and was able to get stops on defense. On the offensive side, the Lady Chargers seemed to put more of an emphasis on attacking the paint, and at one point cut their deficit to one with a 6-0 run before finding a way to pull out the win in the fourth.
“When you start comparing teams from years past, the difference you see is when a team can find a way to win,” Trull said. “When things aren’t going your way, when you just figure out a way, you keep battling and clawing and fighting, and you find a way to finish the job. They have a chance to be a special team.”
Wilson Christian will be back in action against Hilltop Christian at home Friday, while Greenfield will face Washington in a neutral site game.
GREENFIELD (30) McNair 18, Dean 4, Holland 3, Eagles 3, Bryant 2.
WILSON CHRISTIAN (32) Bailey 10, Carnes 10, Nesbit 7, Hoskins 5.
G 7 11 4 8 — 30
W 5 6 8 13 — 32
By Andrew Schnittker
aschnittker@wilsontimes.com | 252-265-7807 | Twitter: @aschnitt53
Wilson basketball fans who turned out to the Wilson Christian Academy gym Thursday night were treated to a thriller between two of the best high school girls basketball teams in the area in a 32-30 Wilson Christian win over Greenfield.
Jocelyn Bailey and Hailey Carnes led the Lady Chargers (9-2) with 10 points apiece. Serenity McNair led the Lady Knights (6-2) with 18 points.
The Lady Chargers were not able to run their offense effectively for most of the night, and finished just 1 for 18 from the 3-point line, but still found a way to win.
“We did a lot of things bad, and then in the end we gave ourselves a shot to win and we hit shots when it mattered,” said Wilson Christian head coach Brian Trull. “I’m really impressed with the resiliency of this team, because when things are not quite going the way we want them to, we don’t let them just bury us, we continue to fight. I think you saw that tonight.”
The Lady Knights led for most of the game, but could not make the key stops or shots down the stretch to finish the game.
“I think our legs got out on us,” said Greenfield head coach Bruce Wall. “We’ve been on a big run right here in a stretch of games and we’ve won a lot of those games with defense. Tonight, I don’t think we played as good defense, and I just really hate to see a game come down to less than 30 seconds and the kids can’t decide the game. That’s unfortunate sometimes, but that’s basketball. You’ve got to go with the punches and keep moving on. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Sophia Nesbit scored seven points for Wilson Christian, including the last four points to win the game.
“She’s willing to take those big shots,” Trull said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her. She’s not going to be flashy, she’s not going to score a ton of points, but when it matters, I think we want the ball in her hands.”
Greenfield led by seven points late in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Chargers finished the game red hot, ripping off a 9-0 run to steal a win.
“We changed the way we were defending,” Trull said. “When he decided to bring the ball out and have Serenity hold it out at the top, we made the decision to put a little more pressure and try to trap. So what that did is I think it forced them to play a little faster than they had in the first half. When they did find other people, they didn’t hit the shots. They found some other open people, which we knew that would happen, but we wanted to get it out of Serenity’s hands and not let her be the one that wound up beating us.”
With two minutes and change left to play and the Lady Chargers needing a big shot, Kate Hoskins obliged, knocking down a triple with 2:17 left to play to make it a four-point game at 30-26.
Wilson Christian then came up with a steal on the ensuing Greenfield possession, and Hoskins went to the line and knocked down a pair of shots to make it a two-point game with 1:49 left to play.
After another empty Greenfield possession, Wilson Christian worked the ball around before finally feeding it inside to Nesbit, who tied the game with under a minute left.
With things knotted at 30, a Lady Knights turnover gave the Lady Chargers possession with about 32 seconds left, and, with roughly 20 seconds left, Nesbit laid one in to give Wilson Christian its first lead since early in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t think I was going to be shooting,” Nesbit said. “I thought we were going to need a 3-pointer. But when they passed me the ball, there were no defenders on me, and it was close so I just put it up both times. Under pressure, you would think it would be a lot harder to shoot, which it is, but with all that adrenaline running, you just feel like you’ve got to put it up there to get it in.”
The Chargers came up with another stop with 4.5 seconds to play, but turned it over on the in-bounds pass with 3.8 seconds left. Greenfield could not find a buzzer beater, however, and the Lady Chargers held on for the comeback win.
After a low-scoring first quarter in which both teams played strong defense and neither could run its offense saw the Lady Knights take a 7-5 lead, Greenfield started to open things up in the second quarter.
The Lady Knights continued to stifle the Lady Chargers defensively, and hit three 3-pointers to extend their lead to 18-11 at halftime as they worked inside out to open up the long-range shots.
“I think we moved the ball better,” Wall said. “We got some good looks. We spaced them out more and I think we were just more active than were late in the game.”
The Lady Chargers began to inch back in the third quarter, with an 8-4 edge in the third frame to get within three going into the fourth quarter.
Wilson Christian did a better job guarding the perimeter and was able to get stops on defense. On the offensive side, the Lady Chargers seemed to put more of an emphasis on attacking the paint, and at one point cut their deficit to one with a 6-0 run before finding a way to pull out the win in the fourth.
“When you start comparing teams from years past, the difference you see is when a team can find a way to win,” Trull said. “When things aren’t going your way, when you just figure out a way, you keep battling and clawing and fighting, and you find a way to finish the job. They have a chance to be a special team.”
Wilson Christian will be back in action against Hilltop Christian at home Friday, while Greenfield will face Washington in a neutral site game.
GREENFIELD (30) McNair 18, Dean 4, Holland 3, Eagles 3, Bryant 2.
WILSON CHRISTIAN (32) Bailey 10, Carnes 10, Nesbit 7, Hoskins 5.
G 7 11 4 8 — 30
W 5 6 8 13 — 32
