PITTSBORO — Seaforth led by as much as 17 points in a dominant first quarter, kicking off a 62-47 wire to wire home win over its cross-town rival Northwood on Jan. 9.
The Hawks took a 21-4 lead with just over a minute left in the opening quarter thanks to junior Katie Leonard pouring in nine of her 16 points on the night. Leonard shot just 1-for-4 from three in the first eight minutes, but she was able to score off the dribble, knocking down a mid-range jumper and two layups.
Senior Peyton Collins also had a huge first quarter with six points, including an and-one that put the Hawks up 18-2 just over six minutes into the game.
“Offensively, we wanted to get paint touches and make them guard us,” Leonard said.
Said senior Gabby White, who scored the Hawks first four points of the game, “Just playing fast, too. They can’t really run with us. We’re a really fast-paced team, so I think being able to get out in transition, getting those easy buckets and then setting up in our defense I think helped us a lot.”
Northwood went 3-for-10 from the field in the first quarter and struggled to clean looks at the basket from all areas on the court.
“We put a major emphasis on our scouting report yesterday, making sure that we know where their bigs are and try to front the post,” Seaforth coach Charles Byrd said. “When they do catch the ball, just walling up, turning and boxing out.”
Northwood junior forward Shaylah Glover found a crack in the Hawks’ defense though, scoring eight of the Chargers’ 10 second quarter points to help bring them within 12 at halftime. Glover, who finished the game as Northwood’s leading scorer with 12 points, played with aggression around the rim, finishing contested layups and taking trips to the free throw line. However, it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback.
Seaforth opened the second half with another solid offensive stretch and grew its lead to a 22-point advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Leonard caught fire once again in the third quarter with seven more points in the scoring column, but White did most of the heavy lifting down the stretch with 11 second half points. White finished the game with a team-high 17 points, marking her sixth straight game in double figures and her 12th double-digit scoring performance of the season.
Although White is usually the Hawks’ main offensive threat, Leonard has proven to be just as dangerous, especially in Seaforth’s recent outings.
In a 51-48 win over Southeast Alamance, arguably Seaforth’s biggest threat in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference, on Jan. 7, Leonard came up huge with six made threes and scored a season-high 18 points. While White has scored at least 10 points in 12 of the Hawks’ 13 games this season, Leonard is right behind her with 11 games in double figures.
“It’s been really a blessing,” White said about playing with Leonard. “I’d say freshman and sophomore year, I had a lot on my plate trying to be that leader and trying to facilitate, but having Katie by my side taking off a little bit of pressure has been really relaxing and really relieving.”
After getting through a tough week against Southeast Alamance and Northwood with two wins, Seaforth sits at 12-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play (first place). The Hawks have yet to lose a regular season conference game over the program’s four-year history, extending its regular season conference win streak to 46 after the most recent victory.
“Excited we got those wins, two really big wins, but we’ve still got a whole bunch of games ahead of us,” White said. “So, we’re just trying to get locked in and ready for the next one to come.”
As for Northwood, the Chargers now sit at 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference (third place). Northwood has been without its standout senior guard Natalia Whitaker since the middle of December as she recovers from an injury. With just a month left in the regular season, having her back will be huge as the Chargers will need all the help they can get in upcoming home games against Southeast Alamance and Seaforth on Jan. 21 and Jan. 31, respectively.
But for now, Northwood will focus on regaining some momentum in the conference before taking another swing at the top two teams. The Chargers will host fourth-place Chatham Central Thursday and travel to ninth-place North Moore Friday.