Girls
Yompagttl
Chapel Hill.
The Phoenix and
Camels finished 1-2 in the
Northwest Conference this
season. In recent years, the
two schools located in East
Winston have developed
an intriguing rivalry.
Prep, the defending
state champ, earned its spot
in the regionals by blister
ing South Davidson, 67-34
in the fourth round on
Tuesday night. In the
meantime, 12th-seeded
Atkins took a 5-hour bus
ride to the mountains and
pulled off a shocking 48-44
upset win over Murphy
Hiwassee Dam, the West
Region's No. 1 seed.
"We came out ready to
play (against South
Davidson)," said coach
Eugene Love of Winston
Salem Prep. "We wanted to
show our strengths defen
sively. We're excited about
getting back to the region
als. The girls have worked
extremely hard all season.
We're going to keep our
minds focused on our
theme: 'It's our time.'
That's what we keep telling
ourselves."
Although the Phoenix
won both of its regular-sea
son games against the
Camels, it was hardly a
cakewalk. Prep (26-3) reg
istered a 44-37 victory at
home in early January.
Three weeks later, the
Phoenix prevailed again,
but just barely in a 35-34
win on Atkins' home court.
The outcome wasn't deter
mined until the final sec
onds of play.
Atkins (21-6) is having
its best season in school
history. So, in spite of two
losses to Prep, the Camels
will not lack confidence in
their quest to dethrone the
champs. Aside from the
narrow margins of defeat,
they know that the Phoenix
can be beaten because
they've done it before. It
was last season (when Prep
won the state title) when
Atkins split its two confer
ence games against the
Phoenix.
"There's not a lot of
pressure on us," said swing
player Dominique Claytor
of Prep. "But as a team, it
means a lot (to be able to
put ourselves in position to
win another champi
onship). And it's all
because of the work and
effort we've put in on and
off the court. We just want
to finish out our season
year with a win."
For Winston-Salem
Prep, the third and fourth
playoff rounds had a differ
ent kind of flow. The
Phoenix struggled against
East Wilkes in the third
round and trailed by seven
points early in the third
quarter.
Point guard Jada Craig
(19 points) and company
turned up the defensive
pressure to build a double
digits lead which led to
Prep's 53-35 victory last
Saturday.
Three nights later
against South Davidson,
the Phoenix bolted to a 16
0 lead at the end of the fust
quarter and shifted gears to
cruise control to win hand
ily. Craig and Chrisalyn
Boston scored 14 points
apiece. Claytor finished
with 13 and Mychala
Wolfe contributed 10
points to the cause.
Atkins overcame a
shaky start against
Hiwassee Dam to secure its
regional berth.
Late in the third quar
ter, point guard Tyler
Mercer scored eight points
and had one assist during a
14-0 run that gave Atkins a
six-point cushion by the
end of the quarter. Mercer
was the Camels top scorer
with 14 points, followed by
Armani Hampton, who fin
ished with 13.
In the third round
against fourth-seeded
Elkin, the Camels defense
set the tone in a 47-33 road
victory. The shot-blocking
front line of Hampton,
Saryna Carpenter and
Chandler Robinson made
life difficult for Elkins
shooters. Taylor Blakely
and Carpenter were the
Camels' leading scorers
with 12 points apiece.
Photo# by Cnif T. Onenkc
Jayde Grant of Prep applies on-the-ball defensive pressure against Tess Jolly of
East Wilkes.
Coach Louis Lowery
has guided the Camels
to their best record in
school history.
Photos by Craig T. Greenlee
Isaiah Penn comes
off the bench to
provide high-energy
and intensity for the
Phoenix, who are
looking to go to the
state championship
game for the fifth
year in a row.
During the late
stages of the
I season, Chaz
Gwyn has
stepped up as a
prime scorer for
the Phoenix.
I ''
Boys
from page B1
offs. The Phoenix, the
region's No. 5 seed,
punched its ticket by
imposing its will in a con
vincing 68-52 road victory
over top-seeded Avery
County on Tuesday night
in a fourth-round match
up.
"Our motto for this
year is: 'tough players
win,"' said coach Andrew
Gould, whose team
improved to 21-7. "We're
moving the ball and shar
ing the ball and we're play
ing together as a team.
Every night, it's always
somebody different who
who led all scorers with 22
points, provided all the
perimeter firepower that
Prep needed.
In the paint, 6-7 junior
power forward Zaire
Williams dominated with
20 points. Justice Goodloe
scored 11 points and
Kendrick Edwards finished
with nine.
The Phoenix got off to
a slow start and trailed 15
10 at the end of the first
quarter. In the second quar
ter, the momentum
changed in Prep's favor.
The Phoenix doubled their
first-quarter offensive out
put to take a 31-25 lead at
the half.
Winston-Salem Prep
seems to be peaking at the
steps up to give the team
what it needs."
Prep now shifts its
focus to the next round.
The Phoenix will face
high-scoring Lincoln
Charter in the regional
championship on Saturday.
Game site and tip-off time
were announced on
Wednesday after The
Chronicle went to press.
Saturday's winner will
play for the state champi
onship on March 12 in
Chapel Hill.
The Phoenix got the
max from its inside/outside
game, much to the dismay
of a standing-room only
crowd in Avery County's
home gym. Freshman
swing player Chaz Gwyn,
right time at both ends of
the floor, especially with its
defense. In handing Avery
County (26-4) its only
home loss of the season,
the Phoenix outscored the
Vikings 16-9 in the final
quarter to settle the issue.
"We played great
defense tonight," said
Gould. "We just locked up
and played tough defen
sively. This group is play
ing its best basketball of
the season. That's what's
most important at this time
of year."
A win over Lincoln
Charter on Saturday will
send Prep to the state
championship game for the
fifth straight year. Over the
past eight years, the
Phoenix has developed into
a bona fide powerhouse at
the Class 1-A level.
During that stretch,
Winston-Salem Prep has
won four state titles, which
included a three-peat in
2012, 2013 and 2014. A
year ago, the Phoenix lost
for the first time in the state
finals (73-70 to East
Carteret).
Gould has developed a
deep appreciation for this
year's squad, which has
only three seniors on its
roster. The Phoenix's col
lective attitude about the
game, he explained, gives
this year's team an identity
that makes them unique.
"The best way to
describe it is all for one and
one for all," said Gould.
"Every player is most con
cerned about doing his
part. With this group,_
nobody cares who gets the
credit or the glory. It's all
about winning."
Prep reached the fourth
round of this year's play
offs by making quick work
of Matthews Queen's
Grant in a third round con
test last Saturday. The
Phoenix led 20-4 at the end
of the first quarter and
never looked back.
Gwyn led the way with
a game-high 33 points and
Daivien Williams chipped
in with 14. Williams fin
ished with 11 points.
Fame
from pageTfl
pressures of recruiting can
cause S6the to become dis
enfranchised with the
game, assuming that
because they're not recruit
ed by big schools or even at
all, that they should end
their dream of playing at
the next level.
For Tory Woodbury,
these hurdles only proved
to be further motivation. In
his Hall of Fame induction
interview with Mr. Charlie
Neal, Tory said, " 1 didn't
have many options (after
high school). I had a bas
ketball tryout at North
Carolina Central that didn't
work out, and my grand
mother still wanted me to
go to school and make
something of myself, so I
decided to stay home and
attend Winston-Salem
State ... and I guess you
could say it worked out."
To say "it worked out"
is an understatement as
Woodbury would go from
walking onto the team to
becoming a four-year
starter and team captain for
three years at WSSU.
During his playing career,
he was a natural pbymaker
at quarterback with the
innate ability to move the
ball through the air as well
as on the ground. In an
exclusive interview with
The Chronicle after the
Hall of Fame ceremony,
Tory joked that he "was
r
Cam Newton before Cam
Newton.
"That Superman thing
is old, I been doing that;
only thing Cam got on me
is the dab," he said while
we chatted about a high
light on his Hall of Fame
video in which he scored a
touchdown and lifted up
his jersey to reveal a
Superman shirt, doing this
in 1999, almost 10 years
before Cam Newton adopt
ed the gesture at Auburn
University.
Similarly to the current
league MVP, Tory put up
historic numbers in his col
legiate career at Winston
Salem State University,
leaving as the school's all
time passing leader with
4,493 yards and 38 touch
downs, and running for
over 1,000 career-rushing
yards.
After an All-CIAA sen
ior season, back-to-back
CIAA Championships, and
back-to-back Pioneer Bowl
MVPs, Tory found himself
having to make a similar
decision to the one he had
made four years earlier. He
was not a high-ranked NFL
prospect and as an African
American quarterback
coming from a small divi
sion II black college at the
turn of the millennium, his
chances of being drafted
and making an NFL roster
were slim. But again Tory
Woodbury was undeterred
by his obstacles and decid
ed to continue his football
career against all odds.
<7
Through hard work and
determination, Tory man
aged to get picked up by
the Jets practice squads for
the 2001-2003 seasons, as
well as playing with the
Buffalo Bills from 2005
2007. His never-give-up
attitude and love of the
game propelled him to
keep pushing forward
where others may have
hung up their cleats.
Charlie Neal asked
Tory during his interview
what he took away from his
NFL experience. Tory
replied, "It's always busi
ness first, that's what I had
to learn. Being from a
small black college and a
black quarterback, the odds
were against me, but you
know, I didn't try to use
that as an excuse. It was
tough, but I just prayed and
worked my butt off."
Since the end of his
playing career, Tory
Woodbury has re-focused
his efforts on giving back
to the community and pass
ing his knowledge of the
game on younger genera
tions. He has managed to
directly affect kids who are
growing up just like he did
in his hometown through
coabhing, as well as
through The Tory
Woodbury Foundation,
which provides school sup
plies, clothing, and meals
for community members in
need. When asked what his
motivating factor for giv
ing back to his community
was, he replied, "I've had
so many mentors like (Ben)
Piggott and (James)
Blackburn, all those guys at
the Sims center, and the
Boys and Girls club. I
knew 1 wanted to give
back, because they kinda
raised me when I wasn't at
home or my grandmother
was at work. I would go to
the Sims Center and I knew
I was in good hands."
Currently, Tory
Woodbury is the Offensive
Coordinator at Johnson C.
Smith University, serving
under the tutelage of his
mentor and former coach at
Winston-Salem State,
Kermit Blount. Charlie
Neal asked Tory about his
future aspirations in coach
ing and he laughed as he
told him, "My boss is here
so I need to be careful how
I answer this question ...
but I have aspirations of
making it to the top, of
being the head coach. I've
had a chance to learn from
Coach Blount for years
now and when it's the right
time to spread my wings ...
I'm gonna take it."
If his past is any indica
tion, you can bet that Tory
Woodbury will be making
his debut as a head coach
somewhere before we
know it.
Stay tuned to The
Chronicle's social media
and You Tube for an exclu
sive video segment and
interview with Tory
Woodbury from the CIAA
Hall of Fame.
i
uS^SSSi!?' " 'hoWH with his mentor *** ""
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