ND falls to Kirk

By Brad Greer
North Delta was hoping the third time would be a charm as they squared off against No. 1 ranked Kirk in the District 1-AAA  championship game Saturday afternoon  at Indianola Academy.
But just as the other  previous two regular season meetings, Kirk’s overall athleticism and experience were too much for the youthful Green Wave to overcome as the Raiderettes eased past North Delta 72-25.
Despite the loss, North Delta (17-4) will advance to the North AAA State tournament at Leake Academy as they square off against the Winston Academy/Park Place Christian winner tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m.
Kirk (30-3) raced out to a 9-0 lead before Faith Bollinger got North Delta on the board with a short jumper at the 5:03 mark.
The Raiderettes then basically put the game away by scoring the next 11 points keyed by three pointers from Carly Hudspeth and Margaret Taylor to extend its lead to 20-2.
Kirk reeled off eight more points before Ally Alford’s basket made the score 28-6 after one quarter of play.
The Raideretts led by as many as 44 points late in the second quarter before North Delta ended the half with a small flurry as Alford drained a three-pointer with Kirk leading 47-16 at intermission.
Alford, who was named to the All-District tournament team, paced North Delta with nine points. Emy Cay Donaldson added six while Faith Bollinger collected four.
Mary Emily Morris garnered three points with Hannah Bollinger and Sayle Stennett closing out the scoring with two and one point each.