Fayetteville Christian girls clinch conference
Warriors get 60-37 win over Crusaders
By Jaclyn Shambaugh FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Staff writer
After a second-place finish in the NCISAA Sandhills Conference last season, followed by an early exit from the playoffs, Fayetteville Christian entered this season looking to write a more successful chapter in the program’s book.
“The title of our season is ‘Unfinished Business,’” girls’ basketball coach Don Gardner said. “That’s why we’re playing with a lot of heart right now, and I’m proud of them.”
The Warriors (21-1, 9-0) checked off one of their goals for the season Tuesday night by clinching the regularseason championship with a 60-37 victory against Trinity Christian.
Fayetteville Christian used a 10-2 run to start the second quarter as a springboard to a double-digit lead, and the Warriors held a 27-17 advantage at halftime.
The Crusaders (12-4, 6-3) managed to score in spurts, but never slowed the Warriors’ transition game, slipping further behind when Fayetteville Christian outscored them 21-9 in the final quarter.
“They (Fayetteville Christian) are a great team,” Trinity coach Charles Tubbs said. “They’re older, more experienced than we are. We’re trying to regroup and put the
pieces together to contend for our division.”
Gloria Smith led Trinity with 12 points.
Fayetteville Christian guard Monet Oliver scored seven of her game-high 17 points in the second quarter, helping to spark the Warriors’ breakaway.
“That was good communication and teamwork,” Oliver said of her team’s run. “We have a good bond, and we know if anybody’s down, we have to pick them up. Just keep the intensity up and keep scoring.”
Fayetteville Christian will host non-conference foe Fayetteville Academy (2-15) on Thursday before finishing out the regular season with a Sandhills matchup against Northwood Temple (6-9) on Friday.
The Warriors currently hold the top spot in the statewide MaxPreps Rankings for NCISAA 2-A teams.
Oliver said the team’s success through the regular season is the result of hard work.
“All the adversity that we went through, you know it’s not easy,” Oliver said. “All the hard work we put in in the summer. I’ve never seen anybody do the work that we do. It almost brings tears to my eyes to think that after all this we got a championship, so it was well worth it.” Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at jshambaugh@fayobserver. com or 910-609-0651.
Warriors get 60-37 win over Crusaders
By Jaclyn Shambaugh FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Staff writer
After a second-place finish in the NCISAA Sandhills Conference last season, followed by an early exit from the playoffs, Fayetteville Christian entered this season looking to write a more successful chapter in the program’s book.
“The title of our season is ‘Unfinished Business,’” girls’ basketball coach Don Gardner said. “That’s why we’re playing with a lot of heart right now, and I’m proud of them.”
The Warriors (21-1, 9-0) checked off one of their goals for the season Tuesday night by clinching the regularseason championship with a 60-37 victory against Trinity Christian.
Fayetteville Christian used a 10-2 run to start the second quarter as a springboard to a double-digit lead, and the Warriors held a 27-17 advantage at halftime.
The Crusaders (12-4, 6-3) managed to score in spurts, but never slowed the Warriors’ transition game, slipping further behind when Fayetteville Christian outscored them 21-9 in the final quarter.
“They (Fayetteville Christian) are a great team,” Trinity coach Charles Tubbs said. “They’re older, more experienced than we are. We’re trying to regroup and put the
pieces together to contend for our division.”
Gloria Smith led Trinity with 12 points.
Fayetteville Christian guard Monet Oliver scored seven of her game-high 17 points in the second quarter, helping to spark the Warriors’ breakaway.
“That was good communication and teamwork,” Oliver said of her team’s run. “We have a good bond, and we know if anybody’s down, we have to pick them up. Just keep the intensity up and keep scoring.”
Fayetteville Christian will host non-conference foe Fayetteville Academy (2-15) on Thursday before finishing out the regular season with a Sandhills matchup against Northwood Temple (6-9) on Friday.
The Warriors currently hold the top spot in the statewide MaxPreps Rankings for NCISAA 2-A teams.
Oliver said the team’s success through the regular season is the result of hard work.
“All the adversity that we went through, you know it’s not easy,” Oliver said. “All the hard work we put in in the summer. I’ve never seen anybody do the work that we do. It almost brings tears to my eyes to think that after all this we got a championship, so it was well worth it.” Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at jshambaugh@fayobserver. com or 910-609-0651.
