WCA reign unfrozen
Lady Chargers fall 47-30 to Bethel Christian in NCCSA 2-A semis
By Randy Jones Staff Writer
RALEIGH - The score was 4-1 at the end of the first quarter of Friday night's North Carolina Christian School Association 2-A state semifinal game between Wilson Christian and Kinston Bethel Christian.
And Lady Chargers' head coach Brian Trull couldn't have been happier with his team's tiny lead.
Winners of three state championships in a row (first at 3-A and the last two at 2-A), for WCA to get a shot at No. 4, slowing the pace against the Lady Trojans was vital.
"We knew we needed to limit the number of possessions by both teams," he said. "So after the first quarter, we were feeling good."
However, led by a 21-point, 18-rebound effort by junior Kelsey Worthington, Bethel claimed the rubber match of three meetings this season to advance to Saturday afternoon's state championship game with a 47-30 victory inside Friendship Christian Academy's gym.
"We turned it over a bunch, and we didn't score," Trull summed up after the game. "That's not a way to go about winning a basketball game."
He added that Worthington's play was huge.
"We couldn't stop her," he said. "We had absolutely no answer, and we tried many different things."
The Lady Trojans improved to 18-4 as the No. 1 seed out of the East. Bethel will meet Faith Christian for the championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Lady Eagles, the No. 1 out of the West, improved to 20-4 with a 39-36 win over East No. 2 and host Friendship.
The Lady Chargers, who finished with a 16-11 record as the No. 3 seed out of the East, will take on Friendship (14-6) in the third-place game at 10 a.m.
When those first eight minutes of play ended, Trull's optimism was countered by Bethel head coach Kendall Sanderson's lack of it.
Looking at the scoreboard between quarters, Sanderson said she had a simple message to her team.
"I told them if we keep it up, that they were going to lose," she said.
The Lady Trojans' coach meant simply that her team was not doing what it had all season long - moving the ball around, expanding the defense and making layups.
The first quarter featured one thing that troubled Trull, however, turnovers. Wilson Christian gave the ball away eight times to Bethel's two.
"A lot of our turnovers weren't forced," the coach lamented. "That was the bad part, they weren't under a lot of pressure."
Bethel scored the first eight points of the second quarter, five coming from Worthington and the others from a 3-pointer by Ashlyn Moran.
The two teams settled in from there and the half ended with the Lady Trojans holding a 19-15 advantage.
The third quarter saw Bethel take control.
Jensen Worthington opened the second half with a layup 52 seconds in, and WCA junior Julianne Attoe answered immediately with a layup of her own off a feed from junior Kelli Brantley to make it 21-17.
That would be the last time Wilson Christian scored in the quarter as the Lady Trojans scored 17 straight with 14 of them coming off turnovers or offensive rebounds.
Despite the big advantage, Sanderson wasn't ready to write off the three-time state champs.
"They know how to win," she said.
On cue, the Lady Chargers got a pair of free throws from senior Sarah Reams on their first possession and then went into a press on the Lady Trojans.
A quick turnover was converted into a layup by Attoe to cut the lead to 38-21.
After another Trojans' turnover, the Lady Chargers missed a shot that was grabbed by Kelsey Worthington.
On the other end, Jensen Worthington got an offensive rebound and was fouled. She missed, but got the rebound and was fouled again. She missed both at the line and Kelsey Worthington grabbed it before being fouled. She made 1 of 2 at the line to make it 39-21.
On the other end, Kelli Brantley missed a pair of free throws and Kelsey Worthington got the rebound and was fouled.
She hit both at the line this time to push the lead to 20 for the first time at 41-21 and Sanderson took a timeout.
"Once we got it to 20, I felt better," Sanderson said. "I told them that most girls basketball games, teams score 30 to 40 points, and you're up 20 now. So all we have to do is protect the ball and know that we were in the double bonus the rest of the way. If we do that, the game was ours."
A layup following a WCA turnover with 3:57 by Jensen Worthington began a small 6-1 spurt for the Lady Trojans' biggest advantage of the night at 47-22.
The Lady Chargers made 5 of 6 at the line and got a 3-pointer from senior Logan Joyner for the final margin.
Trull said he was truly impressed with the work of his team which lost 80 percent of its offense from a year ago and still was looked at as the same team that won three titles in a row.
"It was something we faced all year long - playing with a bull's eye on our backs," he said. "You win three titles in a row, you get everyone's best effort every night. And that's OK. This group, I'm proud of the way we competed the entire season. What we've done, there is nothing to hold your heads down about. We worked hard and played hard all year.
"In the end, I think the semifinals of the state tournament, that's where we should be. There are two very good teams playing tomorrow for the championship."
Attoe, who led Wilson Christian with 12 points and eight rebounds, said the season was tough, but enjoyable.
"We grew a lot," she said. "We looked at it as a rebuilding year. We started off shaky with some wins and some losses, but as the season went on we grew offensively and defensively. And we grew so close together as a team.
"It was tough, having a bull's eye on us. Everyone wanted us to lose, to make sure we didn't get four in a row. We came in to the tournament with that target, yet we were the underdogs. I'm proud of what we've done."
Saturday's third-place game will be the finale for WCA seniors Joyner, Reams and Kristi Price.
WILSON CHRISTIAN (30)
Bissett 4, Brantley 3, Cooper 2, Attoe 12, Truesdale, Hunter 1, Reams 5, Joyner 3, Carr, Lamm, Price.
BETHEL CHRISTIAN (47)
J. Worthington 13, Moran 3, Fulcher 8, K. Worthington 21, Crain 2, Sowers.
Score by quarters
Wilson Christian 4 11 2 13 -30
Bethel Christian 1 18 19 9 -47
Lady Chargers fall 47-30 to Bethel Christian in NCCSA 2-A semis
By Randy Jones Staff Writer
RALEIGH - The score was 4-1 at the end of the first quarter of Friday night's North Carolina Christian School Association 2-A state semifinal game between Wilson Christian and Kinston Bethel Christian.
And Lady Chargers' head coach Brian Trull couldn't have been happier with his team's tiny lead.
Winners of three state championships in a row (first at 3-A and the last two at 2-A), for WCA to get a shot at No. 4, slowing the pace against the Lady Trojans was vital.
"We knew we needed to limit the number of possessions by both teams," he said. "So after the first quarter, we were feeling good."
However, led by a 21-point, 18-rebound effort by junior Kelsey Worthington, Bethel claimed the rubber match of three meetings this season to advance to Saturday afternoon's state championship game with a 47-30 victory inside Friendship Christian Academy's gym.
"We turned it over a bunch, and we didn't score," Trull summed up after the game. "That's not a way to go about winning a basketball game."
He added that Worthington's play was huge.
"We couldn't stop her," he said. "We had absolutely no answer, and we tried many different things."
The Lady Trojans improved to 18-4 as the No. 1 seed out of the East. Bethel will meet Faith Christian for the championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Lady Eagles, the No. 1 out of the West, improved to 20-4 with a 39-36 win over East No. 2 and host Friendship.
The Lady Chargers, who finished with a 16-11 record as the No. 3 seed out of the East, will take on Friendship (14-6) in the third-place game at 10 a.m.
When those first eight minutes of play ended, Trull's optimism was countered by Bethel head coach Kendall Sanderson's lack of it.
Looking at the scoreboard between quarters, Sanderson said she had a simple message to her team.
"I told them if we keep it up, that they were going to lose," she said.
The Lady Trojans' coach meant simply that her team was not doing what it had all season long - moving the ball around, expanding the defense and making layups.
The first quarter featured one thing that troubled Trull, however, turnovers. Wilson Christian gave the ball away eight times to Bethel's two.
"A lot of our turnovers weren't forced," the coach lamented. "That was the bad part, they weren't under a lot of pressure."
Bethel scored the first eight points of the second quarter, five coming from Worthington and the others from a 3-pointer by Ashlyn Moran.
The two teams settled in from there and the half ended with the Lady Trojans holding a 19-15 advantage.
The third quarter saw Bethel take control.
Jensen Worthington opened the second half with a layup 52 seconds in, and WCA junior Julianne Attoe answered immediately with a layup of her own off a feed from junior Kelli Brantley to make it 21-17.
That would be the last time Wilson Christian scored in the quarter as the Lady Trojans scored 17 straight with 14 of them coming off turnovers or offensive rebounds.
Despite the big advantage, Sanderson wasn't ready to write off the three-time state champs.
"They know how to win," she said.
On cue, the Lady Chargers got a pair of free throws from senior Sarah Reams on their first possession and then went into a press on the Lady Trojans.
A quick turnover was converted into a layup by Attoe to cut the lead to 38-21.
After another Trojans' turnover, the Lady Chargers missed a shot that was grabbed by Kelsey Worthington.
On the other end, Jensen Worthington got an offensive rebound and was fouled. She missed, but got the rebound and was fouled again. She missed both at the line and Kelsey Worthington grabbed it before being fouled. She made 1 of 2 at the line to make it 39-21.
On the other end, Kelli Brantley missed a pair of free throws and Kelsey Worthington got the rebound and was fouled.
She hit both at the line this time to push the lead to 20 for the first time at 41-21 and Sanderson took a timeout.
"Once we got it to 20, I felt better," Sanderson said. "I told them that most girls basketball games, teams score 30 to 40 points, and you're up 20 now. So all we have to do is protect the ball and know that we were in the double bonus the rest of the way. If we do that, the game was ours."
A layup following a WCA turnover with 3:57 by Jensen Worthington began a small 6-1 spurt for the Lady Trojans' biggest advantage of the night at 47-22.
The Lady Chargers made 5 of 6 at the line and got a 3-pointer from senior Logan Joyner for the final margin.
Trull said he was truly impressed with the work of his team which lost 80 percent of its offense from a year ago and still was looked at as the same team that won three titles in a row.
"It was something we faced all year long - playing with a bull's eye on our backs," he said. "You win three titles in a row, you get everyone's best effort every night. And that's OK. This group, I'm proud of the way we competed the entire season. What we've done, there is nothing to hold your heads down about. We worked hard and played hard all year.
"In the end, I think the semifinals of the state tournament, that's where we should be. There are two very good teams playing tomorrow for the championship."
Attoe, who led Wilson Christian with 12 points and eight rebounds, said the season was tough, but enjoyable.
"We grew a lot," she said. "We looked at it as a rebuilding year. We started off shaky with some wins and some losses, but as the season went on we grew offensively and defensively. And we grew so close together as a team.
"It was tough, having a bull's eye on us. Everyone wanted us to lose, to make sure we didn't get four in a row. We came in to the tournament with that target, yet we were the underdogs. I'm proud of what we've done."
Saturday's third-place game will be the finale for WCA seniors Joyner, Reams and Kristi Price.
WILSON CHRISTIAN (30)
Bissett 4, Brantley 3, Cooper 2, Attoe 12, Truesdale, Hunter 1, Reams 5, Joyner 3, Carr, Lamm, Price.
BETHEL CHRISTIAN (47)
J. Worthington 13, Moran 3, Fulcher 8, K. Worthington 21, Crain 2, Sowers.
Score by quarters
Wilson Christian 4 11 2 13 -30
Bethel Christian 1 18 19 9 -47
