Mount Calvary Christian girls basketball team finds hot streak
HOOKERTON — The team with the longest winning streak locally resides at Mount Calvary Christian.
The Lady Warriors are currently on a seven-game streak, which started with a victory over Bethel Christian in a tournament Jan. 7. Six of the wins have come by 15 points or more, and the other one was a 40-39 victory over Ahoskie Christian where Hannah Rice scored with two seconds left.
MCCU dropped the first game against Ahoskie Christian 38-25 on Dec. 5, in the midst of a rough patch — the Warriors ended up dropping six of seven games.
Heading into Friday’s game against Fellowship Christian — a team MCCU beat 55-16 on Jan. 20 — the Warriors are 7-1 in 2023 and at 12-9 have already eclipsed their win total from last season when they went 11-15.
“Early on, we dealt with some sickness and injuries, but now that we’ve been able to get everyone healthy we caught fire in the second half of the season,” Rice said. “The kids are playing for each other and that’s something we emphasize. They’ve put in a lot of time in the offseason, developing fundamentals.”
Losing Bailey Wade for several games early contributed to the team’s skid. Wade was playing point guard for the first time in her career and when she was out, the duty fell upon eighth-grader Emily Buck while other players had to do more in Wade’s absence.
“It affected both the offense and defense,” Hannah Rice said. “My whole life I played in the post, but had to play more like a guard when Bailey was out. Now that she’s back, everyone can work on their own positions.”
Wade said it’s been a transition but one she’s appreciated.
“I feel like I’m getting more comfortable as the season goes on,” Wade said. “Since my shchool is small, playing varsity in the sixth grade has prepared me for where I am today. I’m still growing as an athlete and I try to be a positive teammate.”
Buck said playing point guard did help her out despite the challenges, not just being in the position but adjusting to varsity play.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but playing point guard helped me a whole lot,” Buck said.
The Warriors are led offensively by Hannah Rice (12.7 ppg, 17.1 rpg, 2.4 spg), Wade (9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.1 apg, 3.7 spg, 2.0 bpg) and Buck (9.8 ppg). Rice leads the state in rebounds according to Maxpreps and defensively, Holly Jo Brick is seventh in the state with 3.8 blocks per game while also grabbing 8.7 rebounds.
“I’ve just been working on timing,” Brick said. “I hurt my knee and missed a couple games so I’ve been working on getting my jump back, and of course my height helps.”
The future is even brighter for Mount Calvary Christian, as the team has no seniors. Melanie Hall is the elder stateswoman as a junior with three sophomores — Rice, Wade and Brick — and middle schoolers.
“We have a young varsity team, but there’s a lot of talent and heart,” Frank Rice said. “They’re unselfish and we’re teaching them how to play the right way. The core will be together for another three years and if we stay injury-free, the way this team is gelling, a state championship could happen.”
The Warriors are hosting the Mid-Atlantic Christian Athletic Association championships, which run from Feb. 16-18.
HOOKERTON — The team with the longest winning streak locally resides at Mount Calvary Christian.
The Lady Warriors are currently on a seven-game streak, which started with a victory over Bethel Christian in a tournament Jan. 7. Six of the wins have come by 15 points or more, and the other one was a 40-39 victory over Ahoskie Christian where Hannah Rice scored with two seconds left.
MCCU dropped the first game against Ahoskie Christian 38-25 on Dec. 5, in the midst of a rough patch — the Warriors ended up dropping six of seven games.
Heading into Friday’s game against Fellowship Christian — a team MCCU beat 55-16 on Jan. 20 — the Warriors are 7-1 in 2023 and at 12-9 have already eclipsed their win total from last season when they went 11-15.
“Early on, we dealt with some sickness and injuries, but now that we’ve been able to get everyone healthy we caught fire in the second half of the season,” Rice said. “The kids are playing for each other and that’s something we emphasize. They’ve put in a lot of time in the offseason, developing fundamentals.”
Losing Bailey Wade for several games early contributed to the team’s skid. Wade was playing point guard for the first time in her career and when she was out, the duty fell upon eighth-grader Emily Buck while other players had to do more in Wade’s absence.
“It affected both the offense and defense,” Hannah Rice said. “My whole life I played in the post, but had to play more like a guard when Bailey was out. Now that she’s back, everyone can work on their own positions.”
Wade said it’s been a transition but one she’s appreciated.
“I feel like I’m getting more comfortable as the season goes on,” Wade said. “Since my shchool is small, playing varsity in the sixth grade has prepared me for where I am today. I’m still growing as an athlete and I try to be a positive teammate.”
Buck said playing point guard did help her out despite the challenges, not just being in the position but adjusting to varsity play.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but playing point guard helped me a whole lot,” Buck said.
The Warriors are led offensively by Hannah Rice (12.7 ppg, 17.1 rpg, 2.4 spg), Wade (9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.1 apg, 3.7 spg, 2.0 bpg) and Buck (9.8 ppg). Rice leads the state in rebounds according to Maxpreps and defensively, Holly Jo Brick is seventh in the state with 3.8 blocks per game while also grabbing 8.7 rebounds.
“I’ve just been working on timing,” Brick said. “I hurt my knee and missed a couple games so I’ve been working on getting my jump back, and of course my height helps.”
The future is even brighter for Mount Calvary Christian, as the team has no seniors. Melanie Hall is the elder stateswoman as a junior with three sophomores — Rice, Wade and Brick — and middle schoolers.
“We have a young varsity team, but there’s a lot of talent and heart,” Frank Rice said. “They’re unselfish and we’re teaching them how to play the right way. The core will be together for another three years and if we stay injury-free, the way this team is gelling, a state championship could happen.”
The Warriors are hosting the Mid-Atlantic Christian Athletic Association championships, which run from Feb. 16-18.
