GREENSBORO — A young Northwood girls squad put up a valiant effort before falling to Dudley 41-35 Feb. 26 in opening round action of the 3A NCHSAA State Tournament.
The loss closed the No. 28-seeded Chargers season at 14-13 while the fifth-seeded Panthers improved to 22-4 and were set to take on Fayetteville’s Terry Sanford in the second round of the Eastern Bracket.
“We knew going in that Dudley was extremely athletic and wanted to get in transition,” said Northwood coach Cameron Vernon. “We had three keys which was limit turnovers, rebound on the defensive end and create high percentage shots. We did two out of the three very well, but we just had too many turnovers. We finished the game with 28 turnovers and you can’t win against good teams like that. In the first half 11 of their 17 points were off our turnovers. But we played very hard.”
The Chargers turned the ball over with 29 seconds left in the contest, trailing by 36-35 and Marissa Wooten completed a three-point play on the other end to extend the lead, before a pair of foul shots by Iysis Whitfield clinched the win by the Panthers.
“We gave them a great game and I looked at the clock and we are down one with 30 seconds,” said Vernon. “But they forced a turnover that resulted in a 3-point play, and that was hard to swallow.”
The contest was a defensive struggle the entire night as the athleticism of both teams made getting clean looks on the offensive end a challenge.
Chandler Adams sank four points in the opening period for the Chargers and Myla Marve canned a trey, but the Panthers led 9-7 after one behind four points from Quinzia Fulmore.
Adams sparked an 11-8 surge by Northwood in the second period to send the visitors into the locker room with an 18-17 advantage. Wooten countered with three points for Dudley.
Turnovers and cold shooting plagued the Chargers in the third as the locals managed just six points, Adams and Mckeena Snively scoring three apiece. The Panthers answered with 11 points behind four from Symphony Jackson to take a 28-24 lead heading into the fourth and final quarter.
Slowly but surely Northwood pecked away at the deficit in the fourth, with four points from Marve, and three more from Adams, drawing the Chargers to within 36-35.
The final, costly turnover by the locals with the game on the line symbolized the loss, and secured the Dudley victory.
Adams posted a double-double in the loss for the Chargers with a 17 point, 10 rebound effort while Marve added seven points, and Jaela Harris five points and a rebound.
“Chandler Adams was a beast tonight with 17 points and 10 rebounds,” added Vernon. “She was outstanding!”
Vernon noted how proud he was of his team, including Harris, the squad’s lone senior.
“I am super proud of this group and we do lose one senior, Jaela Harris,” Vernon said. “Jalea has been a great asset for our program the past four years and she always has a smile on her face and positive attitude daily. We wish her the best as she moves on.”
Wooten led Dudley offensively with 11 points while Jackson chipped in eight.