WINSTON-SALEM — In a rematch of the 2023 girls 2A East regional final on March 13, Seaforth fell short of repeating history.
In the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the No. 3 Hawks fell to No. 1 North Pitt, 70-45, in the regional final one year after beating the Panthers in the same round.
Although junior Gabby White came out in attack-mode, starting the game with an and-one on the first possession, Seaforth couldn’t find much offense outside of its focal guard. North Pitt played an aggressive, up-close style of man-to-man defense which didn’t allow Seaforth room to move the ball or shoot.
In the first half, sophomores Katie Leonard and Jocelyn Gesner and junior Peyton Collins took the only shots outside of White, combining for seven attempts and two makes. It was an unusual offensive showing from the Hawks, who usually have two or three players playing a significant role in the scoring column.
Head coach Charles Byrd didn’t believe the offensive struggles was the fault of playing in a larger arena.
“We got the shots we (wanted),” head coach Charles Byrd said. “Sometimes the ball just doesn’t fall in your favor.”
Turnovers also became an issue early on and throughout the game as the Panthers created easy transition baskets with on-ball steals and intercepted passes. A few breakaway layups in the first quarter helped North Pitt build a 17-12 lead by the end of the period.
And, outside of what Seaforth was doing to hurt itself, North Pitt had senior guard and N.C. State commit Zamareya Jones to help open the flood gates in its favor.
Jones caught fire from inside and outside, scoring 17 first half points with three made three-pointers. North Pitt freshman Jordan Speller also stepped up in a huge way, making all six of her shot attempts for 12 points to push the Panthers to a 34-22 lead at halftime.
To start the second half, White picked up three quick fouls, forcing her to miss some time in the third quarter.
Jones picked up where she left off, scoring nine third quarter points. She hit a couple of more threes and her first free throws of the evening to put the game away with White on the bench.
Heading into the final quarter, North Pitt held a 53-34 lead and cruised to victory, clinching their spot in the 2A state final. The Panthers finished the game with 20 points off turnovers, and Jones ended her night with 29 points.
As for Seaforth, their quest to avenge last year’s state championship loss ended early despite a 30-point, 11-rebound performance from White.
“I’m super proud of my girls,” Byrd said. “The girls worked really hard to get to this point of the season.”
After finishing with a 28-4 overall record, Seaforth is losing only one starter in senior Hannah Ajayi and one another senior, Jenna Thompson, to graduation. Returning key pieces such as Leonard, Collins and White, who named herself one of the best guards in the country in the postgame press conference, the Hawks are confident that there’s more to come from the young program.
“We’ll be back,” White said. “I’m fully confident we’ll be back, win the regionals, win state. We just have to keep working hard, (stick) to the game plan, do what coach tells us to do, and we’ll be back surely.”