poa
Continued from page Bl
doubt about the final outcome. The Phoenix ladies
buried Cherokee with an early-flurry and went on cruise
control the rest of the way.
Tournament MVP Mychala Wolfe hit three
3-pointers in the opening quarter and Prep (23-3)
controlled the action at both ends of the floor. The
Phoenix went up 29-5 by the end of the first quarter
and never looked back.
Wolfe scored a game-high 20 points and Jada Craig
contributed 12. Dominique Claytor and Chrisalyn
Boston chipped in with 10 points apiece, mostly on
offensive put-backs.
The victory erases the haunting memory of last years
match-up against Bishop McGuinness in the regional
semifinals. Prep had the Villains in trouble, but icy
free-throw shooting set the table for a heart-wrenching
loss.
"This team is a year older and a year wiser," said
WSP Coach Eugene Love. "We've gotten accustomed
to playing in big games, so it's nothing new to us any
more. Now, we're one step away from getting to where
we want to be."
Cherokee (25-4), a team that advanced to the
regionals five years in a row, was confident about
its chances to earn a trip to the state title game. The
Braves, however, never had much of a chance after
falling behind by such a big margin so quickly.
"Prep hit a lot of shots, grabbed a lot of rebounds, and
things just snowballed from there," said Coach Chris
Mintz of Cherokee. "Their defense wouldn't allow us to
get into anything we wanted to do offensively. They are
by for the best team we've played over the last five years
and that includes those (state championship) Bishop
McGuinness teams."
PHoto by Craig T. Greenlee
Eugene Love, Winston
Salem Prep girls'coach
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
Andre Gould has guided
Winston-Salem Prep to
four state titles since 2008.
Photo by Cajf X Owinli i
Winslon-Salem Prep's Ne'Quan Carrington (left) and Kendrkk Edwards (4)put the defensive
squeeze on Albemarle's Lee Autry in the regional title game
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
Mychala Wolfe scored a game-high 20 points against Cherokee and was named Girls West
Region MVP.
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
Prep's girls have played tough defense in the playoffs. Kayla Robinson (left) blocks a shot by Zoe
Jacobsen of Hiwassee Dam in the West Regional semifinals.
SHOWDOWN
Continued from page B1
to the basket and score or find open teammates will help keep
the West team in contention.
Maverick LaRue, a swing player who has excellent range
from 3-point distance, could play a pivotal role. But there's
more to LaRue's game than being an outside shooter. He's a
skilled enough ball-handler to get to the basket and he has the size
to post-up and score.
The game's final outcome could come down to which team
can put together a decisive flurry in the closing minutes.
At halftime of the game, there will be a 3-Point Shooting
Contest and a Skills and Drills competition.
Disc jockey Waleed of 102 JAMZ will provide the music.
Admission is $5. For details, call Coach Foster at 336-695-3212.
Photo by Charles E Ldtwich
Cald> Burgess,
Winston-Salem Prep
Photo by Charles E Leftwich
Mason Matrey, West Forsyth
Photo by Craig T Greenlee
Kai Leslie, Mount Tabor
Rising Stars Showdown Game
East team:
? Ian Henderson (Reynolds)
? Russet Bradley (Carver)
?Kai Leslie (Mount Tabor)
? Nihjd Payne (Reagan)
? Mason Matrey (West Forsyth)
?XavierColes (Reynolds)
? Qumn Baker (Carver)
? Maverick LaRue (Reagan)
? De'Sean Harrel (West Forsyth)
?Ted Christakos (Mt Tabor)
?MalikMies (Reagan)
?TJ. Stevens (ML labor)
West team:
?Josh Jenkins (Glenn)
? Curtis Coleman Jr. (East Forsyth)
? Casey Wilms (Parkland)
? Denard Williams (Atkins)
? Caleb Bugess (W-SPrep)
? Marcus Harris (Glenn)
? Sherrod Weds (East Forsyth)
? Kobe Young (Parkland)
? Brandon Mner (W-S Prep)
? James Etter (Atkins)
? Connor Sparrow (East Forsyth)
? Justin Carter (W-S Prep)
RECRUITING
Continued from page B1
that we must get stronger on the front line. We need
some big guys to help with the rebounding."
This isn't the first time that the Rams' cupboard has
appeared to be empty after suffering heavy personnel
losses at the end of a season. After the 2012-13 campaign,
six seniors completed their college eligibility. WSSU filled
the void with a harvest of recruits comprised of Division
I and JUCO transfers, plus a few freshmen.
Wilhelmi will continue to use that formula from
two years ago. A good portion of that recruiting
class played significant roles in the Rams making
back-to-back appearances in the CIAA Tournament
championship game.
Winston-Salem State is in good shape at the guard
positions. Terrell Leach proved himself as a lethal
3-point shooter in his freshman season. Leach, a
CIAA All-Rookie pick, came off the bench to average
12.3 points a game. In the CIAA tournament final
versus Livingstone, he provided a spark with 23 points
on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc
Leach will get plenty of help from C.J. Ford, who can
play both guard spots. Kerry Campbell, a savvy point
guard who played at Winston-Salem Prep, turned in
his best performances late in the season.
Up front, there
are question marks,
primarily because the
returnees filled in as
role players who didn't
get a huge amount of
court time. Dedric
Byrd, Nate Long, Stacy
Caroway and Quinton
Alton will vie for
increased minutes with
the newcomers that join
the Rams fold.
William Crandell, a
6-feet-5 small forward
who signed early with WSSU last November, could
make an immediate impact as a freshman. Crandell
runs the floor well and has a strong inside presence.
Now that Wilhelmi has finished his first season as
a college head coach, he looks forward to the future
with much optimism. Tm thankful for all the support
I've received from our administration and fans," said
Wilhelmi, who joined the Rams as an assistant four
years ago. "Hopefully, we can reload for next season. Tm
looking forward to carrying on the great tradition here."
i
Photo by Craig T. Greakc
James WUheimi is looking to
strengthen the Rams low post
game in his recruiting efforts.
Photo by WSSUAthkttcs
Rams shooting guard Terrell Leach was voted to the ClAA's
All-Rookie team.
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