Lady Green Wave move on to State Championship round
Published 12:30 pm Friday, February 16, 2018
- North Delta’s Mary Emily Morris pulls up for a three pointer on a fast break. The Lady Green Wave defeated Winston 55-37 to advance to the state championship round for the second year in a row. The Panolian photo by Myra Bean
Lady Green Wave move on to State Championship round
North Delta’s Mary Emily Morris pulls up for a three pointer on a fast break. The Lady Green Wave defeated Winston 55-37 to advance to the state championship round for the second year in a row.
The Panolian photo by Myra Bean
By Myra Bean
With the 55-37 win over Winston Academy Tuesday night, the North Delta Lady Green Wave (22-7) earned a second straight trip to the State Championship round starting next week.
Tonight, they will face No. 2 Leake Academy in the North State semi-finals at 5:15 p.m.
Winston Academy (12-18) entered the first round of the North AAA State competition against North Delta Lady Green Wave with a starting lineup with all but one player over 5’9”. Two were an even 6’0”.
North Delta’s tallest starter was Mary Emily Morris at 5’6”. Maci Kirkland at 5’9” came off the bench in the first quarter. Though their height mattered when it came down to snagging most of the rebounds, fast breaks, steals and scoring, that all belong to the Lady Wave as they defeated the Lady Patriots 55-37.
Before a rowdy home crowd, the Lady Wave team showed how scrappy it could be against a team who could use height to their advantage but Winston did not account for defensive play of the Lady Wave. The Lady Wave challenged each rebound and would sneak behind the ball carrier to double team her and steal the ball.
On a steal and a field goal, Morris gave the Lady Wave a 6-2 lead in the first quarter after Ally Alford scored the first two field goals.
After Winston sank a long jump shot, Emy Cay Donaldson answered with a three-pointer with 2:04 left in the first quarter to give the Lady Wave a 12-4 lead. At the end of the first quarter, North Delta led 16-7.
Winston regrouped and scored 15 points in the second quarter to cut the Lady Wave lead to 10, 32-22, at halftime.
North Delta upped its defensive stance in the third quarter, limiting Winston to three points. Even when Donaldson took a slap to the face, she kept playing for possession of the ball and scored a field goal with 5:03 to go to give North Delta the 36-22 lead.
Winston played flat-footed in the fourth quarter. They stole a ball from Hannah Bollinger. When Bollinger recovered, she sneaked in behind the Winston ballhandler and stole the ball right back. She had six steals on the evening to go along with her three points.
Leading all scorers was Alford with 26 points, along with six steals. Faith Bollinger scored 12 points. Other scorers include Donaldson and Morris with five points each and Kirkland with four points.
