Wesleyan girls advance to semifinals
BY GREER SMITH ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER Feb 18, 2023 Updated 11 hrs ago
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian made enough plays at the end and defeated North Raleigh Christian 49-47 in the third round of NCISAA 4A girls basketball playoffs Saturday at Wesleyan.
The fourth-seeded Trojans improved to 23-9 and play at No. 1 Cannon in the semifinals on Tuesday.
Ashley Browne and Lily Pereira led Wesleyan (23-9) with 15 each. Taylor Hawley, whom McRae was unsure would play because of a severe cold and was limited to playing in short stretches, added 13.
Wesleyan led most of the way but North Raleigh, which finished the season 17-10, went on a 9-2 run in the second and went up 36-35 on a bucket with 6:30 left. The Trojans responded with a 11-3 run, that included eight points from Browne and three from Pereira, for a 46-38 advantage, then made enough free throws to keep the margin from dipping below three.
“The girls were tough,” Wesleyan coach Daniel McRae said. “I told them during a time out that they had to be tough.”
Brown hit a runner with 5:14 left that put the Trojans ahead 37-36 and they didn’t trail again. Her three-point play with 2:45 to go made it 43-38. Pereira hit a runner with 2:08 left and Brown put the Trojans up eight when she hit a free throw with 1:58 to go.
Brown’s 15 was a season high.
“She’s had the best week of practice this week,” McRae said. “She’s in the gym all the time working and working. All the drills we did in practice, she was lights out shooting, Part of her problem is confidence. She’s on a team with other primary scorers so she’s trying to pass and deliver the ball. She’s thinking distribute, distribute, distribute. But with Taylor a question mark, I told her that she had to step up. ... She made a floater and an and-one and 4 of 6 free throws. She had eight points in the fourth quarter.”
The Knights started fouling with a little over a minute left and the Trojans made just three of six, going 1 of 2 on three occasions as they finished out making 8 of 17 at the line in the fourth quarter. Wesleyan went up by four when Pereira hit the last one with 10.2 seconds left and the Knights managed a jumper at the buzzer.
Wesleyan went on its big fourth-quarter run after Knights guard Anaya Harris, who is headed to Appalachian State, fouled out.
“That was huge,” McRae said. “Whoever they subbed in, they had a matchup problem.”
Khloe Naye led North Raleigh with 15 and McKenzie Graves added 10.
gsmith@hpenews.com
BY GREER SMITH ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER Feb 18, 2023 Updated 11 hrs ago
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Christian made enough plays at the end and defeated North Raleigh Christian 49-47 in the third round of NCISAA 4A girls basketball playoffs Saturday at Wesleyan.
The fourth-seeded Trojans improved to 23-9 and play at No. 1 Cannon in the semifinals on Tuesday.
Ashley Browne and Lily Pereira led Wesleyan (23-9) with 15 each. Taylor Hawley, whom McRae was unsure would play because of a severe cold and was limited to playing in short stretches, added 13.
Wesleyan led most of the way but North Raleigh, which finished the season 17-10, went on a 9-2 run in the second and went up 36-35 on a bucket with 6:30 left. The Trojans responded with a 11-3 run, that included eight points from Browne and three from Pereira, for a 46-38 advantage, then made enough free throws to keep the margin from dipping below three.
“The girls were tough,” Wesleyan coach Daniel McRae said. “I told them during a time out that they had to be tough.”
Brown hit a runner with 5:14 left that put the Trojans ahead 37-36 and they didn’t trail again. Her three-point play with 2:45 to go made it 43-38. Pereira hit a runner with 2:08 left and Brown put the Trojans up eight when she hit a free throw with 1:58 to go.
Brown’s 15 was a season high.
“She’s had the best week of practice this week,” McRae said. “She’s in the gym all the time working and working. All the drills we did in practice, she was lights out shooting, Part of her problem is confidence. She’s on a team with other primary scorers so she’s trying to pass and deliver the ball. She’s thinking distribute, distribute, distribute. But with Taylor a question mark, I told her that she had to step up. ... She made a floater and an and-one and 4 of 6 free throws. She had eight points in the fourth quarter.”
The Knights started fouling with a little over a minute left and the Trojans made just three of six, going 1 of 2 on three occasions as they finished out making 8 of 17 at the line in the fourth quarter. Wesleyan went up by four when Pereira hit the last one with 10.2 seconds left and the Knights managed a jumper at the buzzer.
Wesleyan went on its big fourth-quarter run after Knights guard Anaya Harris, who is headed to Appalachian State, fouled out.
“That was huge,” McRae said. “Whoever they subbed in, they had a matchup problem.”
Khloe Naye led North Raleigh with 15 and McKenzie Graves added 10.
gsmith@hpenews.com