PITTSBORO — The Glover twins were double trouble in the Northwood girls’ basketball team’s 61-33 season-opening win over Williams Thursday.
Junior forward Mikaylah Glover led the Chargers in scoring with 16 points, and she notched a double-double with 12 rebounds. Her sister, junior forward Shaylah Glover, also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“They definitely stepped it up tonight,” Northwood coach Kerri Stubbs said. “They were unselfish, looking for each other, guards were able to feed our posts in transition multiple times, and they were confident, which was really great to see.”
The Glover twins established their dominance in the paint early by controlling the boards for multiple put backs and running the floor in transition.
Layups were their bread and butter, but Shaylah stepped out for a long mid-range buzzer beater, which gave Northwood a 25-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
As big as a role the post players played in the win, the game was still high-paced thanks to senior point guard Natalia Whitaker pushing the pedal.
Whitaker scored the first four points of the game with her speed, taking the opening tip behind Williams’ defenders for an immediate layup and then taking a stolen pass for a breakaway layup shortly after. She finished the night as the Chargers’ third double-digit scorer with 10 points and six steals.
“Natalia did a great job of getting us in transition, getting people in the right places,” Stubbs said. “She’s been really good at just being the point guard, being a true point guard. I think it kind from started with that energy from the tip.”
Other players, especially Neah Henry and Alyia Roberts, contributed to the Chargers’ up-tempo style of play with their numerous deflections and steals. The Chargers came away with 16 steals as a team, and many of them led to easy points on the other end. The flow of the game showed up in the first half shooting percentages as Williams shot just 29% from the floor while Northwood shot at a 57% clip in the first two quarters.
The constant on-ball pressure and solid defensive rotations from Northwood held Williams to just 16 points in the first half. Northwood still held a 36-16 lead at the break even after cooling off and scoring just 11 points in the second quarter.
In the second half, Williams put up a better defensive showing, holding Northwood to just 25 points, but despite hitting multiple threes in the second half, the Bulldogs just couldn’t muster enough offense to make a strong comeback.
The Chargers were able to play everyone on the roster, including their only freshman Noelle Whitaker, Natalia’s younger sister. Whitaker scored her first career point in the second half, garnering a crowd pop from the stands and exuberant celebrations from the Northwood bench.
“Her sister was going crazy on the bench,” Stubbs said. “It was really fun to see that excitement from the whole team just to be happy for each other. It was definitely a highlight of the night.”
The team’s energy, which showed up on the court and the sidelines, was one of Stubbs’ positive takeaways from the win.
“We came out ready to play, which is much better than what we’ve seen in one of our scrimmage games,” Stubbs said.
Northwood’s first outing was also an early indicator of its offensive versatility now that it has more size than last season. Stubbs has made it a point to utilize that size in the offseason, and with senior forward Sydney Ballard also in the post, there could be much more games in which the post players have the biggest impact.
“We’ve sat down as a team and said we have size,” Stubbs said. “We need to make sure that we’re using it, so that they’re confident and in the position that they need to be in to be successful.”
On the flip side, Stubbs would like to see her team take better care of the basketball, especially after Williams made defensive adjustments later in the game.
“Couple more turnovers than we would’ve liked,” Stubbs said. “Williams adjusted, came back out and played a zone but more of a trapping zone, so we need to get some things settled down with that, take care of the basketball and get our shot selection better.”
