Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / March 19, 2015, edition 1 / Page 9
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
SportsWeek Also Community, Religion and Classifieds march 19, 2015 WS Prep girls win their first state championship BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE FOR THE CHRONICLE The game clock ticked off the waning sec onds. Jada Craig flashed a high-beam grin as she dribbled and waited for the time to run out. The final buzzer sounded and the dream became reality. Winston-Salem Prep whipped Riverside Martin 58-31 to claim its first state champi onship in girls' basketball. For Craig, it wasn't one of her better offen-^ sive outings (8 points), but she more than com-' pensated with eight assists and two steals. It was a fitting way to .close out a season in which the Phoenix put together one of its most complete performances: The championship game played at Carmichael Arena proved to be a replay of Prep's outcomes in earlier rounds of this year's state playoffs. The Phoenix (24-3) won in blow out fashion again. In the Class 1-A final, Coach Eugene Love's team was dominant. The game was never tied and there were no lead changes. As a team, Riverside didn't score in double digits until the fourth quarter. Winston-Salem Prep overwhelmed the Knights in every way possible, especially on defense. Riverside shot 25.5 percent from the field and 35 percent from the free throw line. The Knights top offensive threat Kayla Jones (21.5 points per game) was limited to 12 points and 11 rebounds on 3-of-16 field goal shooting. She was the only Knight to score in double fig ures. Much of Jones's shooting woes were caused by the defensive presence of Dominique Claytor, who at 5-feet-10 was able to match-up well against Jones, a 6-feet-l swing player^ho does most of Riverside's ball-handling. Claytor, the championship game MVP, scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds. "There was never a question as to who would guard Jones," said Love. "Dominique is tall enough and athletic enough to handle that match-up. She did an outstanding job in making Jones work for everything she got." Claytor embraced the challenge and more than held her own in the one-on-one duel. "I just See Prep Girls on B2 Photo by Craig T. Greenlee Jada Craig is fouled trying to score. Prep boys fall short in state title game BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE FOR THE CHRONICLE For the first time in five trips to the state basketball finals, Winston-Salem Prep ended up as the runner-up. In a back-and forth contest that had the feel of a 12-round boxing match, the Phoenix suffered a 67-64 loss to East Carteret in the Class 1-A state championship game played at Carmichael Arena last week. Entering the final, Winston Salem Prep (20-8) had won three state titles in a row. This time, the script ended differently. East Carteret's mini-armada of shooters converted enough shot attempts to avenge last year's state title game loss to the Phoenix. Ty Simmons, Sam Johnson, Jacque Brown and Brennan Lewis combined to score 62 points for the Mariners. "People saw two evenly matched teams go back-and-forth from start to finish," said Coach Josh Gould of Prep. "Coming down the stretch, they made a few more plays than we did. There are no excuses. We did everything we could to win. But on this day, the better team came through.' Neither team was able to fully impose its will on the other. The game featured eight ties and 17 lead changes. The largest lead for either team was 5 points. At different stretches of the game, fatigue was evident on both sides. ?OHBBI The crowd of nearly 7,000 created an elec trie atmosphere worthy of a postseason set ting. "This was an intense game and the fans realty got-into jt."i4Cwa'Tre Hoilingsworth said, who was voted Most Outstanding Player for Prep. "There were times when I got very tired, but I had to find a way to fight through it. This was a fun game to play in." Prep took the lead for the last time at 57 56 on Hoilingsworth's 3-pointer with 3:38 left to play in the fourth quarter. From that point on, Simmons scored a couple of bas kets and Brown converted five free throws to account for 9 of the Mariner's final 11 points. The Phoenix, down 62-59 with 37 sec onds left in the game, still had an opportuni ty to make a comeback. Hoilingsworth launched a 3-pointer that would 've tied the game, but his shot was off and the Mariners grabbed the rebound. ^ See Prep Boys on B2 Photos by Craig T Greenlee Prep's DJ? Hairston battles for posi tion iri the paint. V 1. ?JM? Phoenix's Nequan Carrington (in red) rises to block shot by East Carteret's Jacque Brown. WSP's Keeshon Patrick (21) tries to pressure the inbound pass from East Carteret's Trevor Willis. Reynolds girls' wrap up season on high note BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE FOR THE CHRONICLE Reynolds was short-circuited in its efforts to win a state championship in girls' basketball. Even so, it was a spe cial time that people will remember for all the right reasons. The school record books will note that when it comes to the 2014-15 sea son, no Reynolds girls' team has ever done it better. The Lady Demons won 27 games in a row before bowing out to Charlotte Myers Park in the semifinals of the Class 4-A West Regional earlier this month. Myers Park topped Southeast Raleigh in the state final to repeat as state champions. Reynolds has gone through a trans formation under second-year Coach Johnathan Gainey. With the exception of one game, the Lady Demons bedaz zled the opposition with their speed, quickness and athleticism. Gainey post ed a 16-11 mark in his first season. Keyera Eaton, Aloni McFarland, Dominique Adams, Hannah Semke and Candice Hodge provided the senior leadership necessary for RJR to maxi mize the talent on its roster. "We were competitive and we con tinued to get better with each game," said Gainey. "When that happens you have a chance to be pretty good. Once they started to play together and believe in themselves, they realized that the sky was the limit. The seniors are gone, but they paved the way and left their mark. Because of those seniors, the players coming back understand what it takes to compete and win at the highest level. Now it's their turn to leave their mark." RJR has three returnees who figure to play prominent roles for next season. All three gained valuable game experi ence as underclassmen. Point guard Tierra Wilson, who averaged 16.5 points and 5.1 assists, blossomed as a bona fide game-chang er. Freshman combo guard Amari Cuthbertson (9.6 points) provided instant offense coming off the bench and swing player Jayme Byers emerged as a solid contributor at both ends of the floor. In scouting reports, Wilson, a soph See Reynolds on B2 I Mil I " Photos by Craig T Greenlee Point guard Tierra Wilson had a break-out season as a sophomore. Keyera Eaton (3) played a key role in RJR having its best-ever season in girls basket ball. ^ 1 m a V ^Jfl| A I KMiilXCfl MPPP^WWiVQ ifei mitl? rl/flWB A VmDx^^ ^A^SrV A ^K^fHTT^r^
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 19, 2015, edition 1
9
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75