RALEIGH — It was long overdue, but more than a half-century following integration, Northwood High School captured its first state team championship title after already winning the heart of Chatham County.
The women’s basketball squad thumped Enka, 70-42, in the NCHSAA 3A title tilt at Reynolds Coliseum last Saturday to claim its place in history with a powerful exclamation point, a 30-1 season and 21-game winning streak.
Friends, fans and families stood outside of Northwood High School in freezing temperatures, cheering and waving as the blue light special rolled past. A Chatham County sheriff’s detail with sirens sounding and flashing lights splitting the darkness escorted the team home. They were VIP guests of honor at a pizza party in the gym where they made the magic happen all season long.
“I’m very happy to be part of history now, which is awesome,” said Chatham County Sheriff’s Sgt. Felix Jimenez, Northwood’s school resource officer who was escorting the team bus. “I had goosebumps the whole ride here, just knowing who I was escorting: the champions.”
Northwood Athletic Director Cameron Vernon introduced the conquering heroes to the tunes of Kool & The Gang song “Celebration.”
One by one, the players entered the gym, smiling and basking in adoration.
“There’s a party going on right here,” the speakers belted. “A celebration, to last throughout the years.”
The festive atmosphere featured giant posters of individual players, cutout masks of the players’ faces, hugs and speeches. The championship banner was hung from a stepladder the players ascended to cut keepsake pieces of the basketball net, with coach Kerri Snipes making the final snip to hearty applause. The net and trophy will be on display in a school showcase.
It was all fun and games in the limelight, but those sweetly smiling young ladies were all business on the court mere hours earlier. They gave no quarter in their high-scoring, precision attack, making sure nothing would separate them from their rightful destiny.
As the game opened and the Northwood players were introduced, their fans let loose a great huzzah. When Enka’s team was announced, the Chargers’ student section lit up with levity, holding newspapers in front of their faces in faux disinterest.
Northwood set the tone from the opening whistle, demonstrating the tenacity of a pit bull on a ham bone. Skylar Adams launched a 3-pointer, Myla Marve and Te’Keyah Bland followed with buckets, Marve hit again and Natalie Bell joined the scoring parade for an immediate 11-0 lead that rocked the bewildered Jets.
At the 3:31 mark of the first quarter, Olivia Porter literally ran a circle around outmatched defenders, creating a lane and racing to the baseline to pop in a basket for a 16-6 lead. She was named the game’s Most Valuable Player for her 18 points, 5 rebounds, defensive mayhem and savvy offensive generalship.
“I was in the zone,” Porter said after the victory. “I didn’t want to lose, so I was going to do anything in my power to win and help my teammates win.”
Enka coach Kyle Reagan couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Porter is unbelievable. She shot 100% from the floor in the first half and it wasn’t like we weren’t freaking guarding her,” he said in a post-game interview. “She just knocked the shots down coming off screens. She stayed active, very aggressive. They’re very well coached, and extremely disciplined, offensively and defensively.”
By halftime, Northwood was in front 46-21, and the sense of predestined history was palpable. The players clustered at the bench, smiling as they chest-bumped and exited the floor.
Whatever adjustments Enka discussed at halftime didn’t work. The Chargers continued to pour it on.
Bland pumped in 7 points in the third quarter. That was sweet music to the “Bland Stand” down courtside. With every one of her baskets, her large gathering of relatives leapt to their feet in synchronous ovation and acclamation.
“I looked over and I saw them and I was like, ‘Oh, wow. They arrived early to get close to the floor,’” Bland said later. She said she got the warm fuzzies from “all the love and support. … I didn’t even know that many people were coming.” For her 17 points and 8 rebounds, Bland was named Most Outstanding Player for the East Regional champions.
Northwood blew the roof off in the fourth quarter, amassing a 32-point lead at the 5:13 mark, its largest of the game. Twice in the waning minutes, the Chargers faithful gave standing ovations to honor their team, and Snipes emptied the bench to let all the reserves get a piece of the milestone action.
It was the first team title for Northwood since Horton and Pittsboro High Schools merged in 1970. The Chargers’ men’s team has made it to the finals four times, most recently last year, but have been unsuccessful in winning the championship each trip.
The Jordan-Matthews women were the last Chatham County team to win a title, which came exactly 10 years ago in 2012. Chatham Central’s women’s teams have won four crowns, and the Jordan-Matthews men achieved the feat once.
“This monkey that’s been on our back for 52 years, we’ve had too many good teams, and this community is too great of a place for us to go this long without a state championship,” Vernon said. “I’m so happy it’s over. I’m so happy for the community that it’s over. I’m so happy for the school that it’s over.”
Vernon was the longtime coach of the women’s team, but said he had no regrets about leaving the post one season short of the state championship run. He was Snipes’ high school coach, and said he was happier to see her get the glory.
“It was the right time for her to step in and for me to step away,” he said.
“We’ve been on a journey, but I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Snipes said. “The effort that they put in all season was tremendous. They’ve done everything that I’ve asked for them to do. They’ve poured their hearts into it. They’ve made sacrifices.”
Snipes recognized the many good Northwood teams of the past that have gotten close to capturing a crown but fell short. The significance of Saturday’s victory was not lost on her, or her players.
“It really means a lot to be able to bring the first one home, and I hope they can enjoy that as well, not only bringing a state title home, but also being the first one is really impressive,” Snipes said. She said it was a testament to their dedication and work ethic, and the leadership and production of her seniors: Caroline Allen, co-winner of the 3A Sportsmanship Award, Marve, Porter and Bell.
“I’m really happy for my senior friends on the team that they got to end their season like this. It’s really great,” said Northwood senior Evelyn Lippers.
Like many other Chargers fans, she was adorned with strings of green and gold beads, the school colors.
“It’s just school spirit, school pride. Go Chargers,” Lippers said. “We’ve been really excited for the girls team.”
Longtime Northwood fan Jimmy Pharr wasn’t surprised at all by the lopsided victory.
“We really considered the real championship game was if they could beat Terry Sanford. That was the first game they weren’t favored in, and a lot of people felt the winner of that game was going to win the whole thing, and that happened,” Pharr said. The Chargers squeaked by Terry Sanford, 51-50, in the Final Four game.
“This team is the best defensive team I’ve ever seen. They can steal the ball and force bad passes like nobody I’ve ever seen,” and has deadly 3-point shooting consistency that amazes him, Pharr said.
He also put in a plug for the cheerleading team. His granddaughter, Michaela Bowling, is a sophomore cheerleader, and he was proudly wearing a sweatshirt that read, “My favorite cheerleader calls me grandpa.”
“It’s one of the best cheerleading squads I’ve ever seen,” Pharr said. “They’ve got their act together over here this year.”
Wanda Bland, Te’Keyah Bland’s mother, said she was proud of her daughter for coming off of major reconstructive shin surgery at the beginning of the season to winning the Most Outstanding Player award in the state championship.
She admitted she was the leader of the Bland Stand, taking part in the whooping and hollering, jumping up and down.
“We sure was, for No. 12, my baby,” said Bland, a 1981 Northwood graduate who was named the school’s female athlete of the year, an honor her oldest daughter, a 2009 graduate, also received. She laughed when asked if anyone pulled any muscles during the animated revelry.
“No sir,” she said.
“Northwood has been doing a lot the whole year. They are a great team. They’re a very great team, and they play good ball together and they deserve this,” Bland said. “They made history tonight. Mmm hmm.”
The groundbreaking title will be memorialized in a permanent N.C. Department of Transportation highway marker at the town limits, as suggested by Town Commissioner Jay Farrell, Pittsboro Mayor Cindy Perry said.
Allen signed a declaration Monday ending the pandemic state of emergency, and in the near future, the players and coaches will be invited to the reopened Town Hall to be formally recognized with a celebratory proclamation.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Pittsboro Mayor Cindy Perry. The News + Record regrets the error.