LILLINGTON — It wasn’t for the faint of heart in Lillington on Monday, Nov. 25 as the Northwood girls’ basketball team absolutely crushed host Western Harnett 55-9 in non-conference action.
In picking up its first win of the season to move to .500, the Lady Chargers exploded early to a 24-2 advantage after eight minutes of action and never looked back in taking a win that could have been much worse had NW coach Cameron Vernon not taken it easy on the Eagles.
Vernon was able to see many combinations on the court in the victory and the result was a balanced attack.
“It was great to get our first win of the season and we were able to get everyone in the game by the third quarter,” Vernon said. “We were very balanced and I loved how we started the game with some energy.”
Behind a pair of treys and six points from Mckenna Snively, and six additional points down in the paint from freshman Tekeyah Bland, Northwood dealt Western Harnett a fatal blow in the form of the 24-2 run.
Vernon felt his young team let off the gas a bit in the second quarter and played with less energy and focus.
“We do need to learn how to maintain that energy and effort the entire game,” noted Vernon. “We can’t play one really good quarter or half and then take a quarter or half off. That’s what we are trying to preach daily.”
Rae McClarty canned a three-pointer in the second and Bland chipped in three more points as the Chargers built its lead to a commanding 32-4 at the half.
Northwood picked the intensity back up in the third period and the result was a 15-3 surge which extended its lead to a whopping 47-7. Natalie Bell collected four points in the stanza for the green and gold while Jy Smith drilled a trey.
Jillian McNaught would pump in four points in the fourth for the Lady Chargers who outscored the Eagles 8-2 in the quarter to close out the easy 55-9 win.
Snively led all scorers with 11 while Bland chipped in nine, Bell eight and McClarty seven for the balanced Northwood attack.
“McKenna really had a good night shooting and Tekeyah was able to really do well in the post,” said Vernon. “We had a nice mix of inside and outside scoring. Obviously holding your opponent to 9 points in the game, I was pleased with our defensive effort. We have a quick turnaround heading to Northern Guilford and they have a very tough squad with everyone back from last year’s team.”