Lady Rams reign
Published 10:34 am Wednesday, November 21, 2018
ASKEWVILLE – Ridgecroft School’s girl’s basketball team led from the opening tip to the final horn in defending their varsity title 43-32 over host Bethel Assembly in the Eric Baggett Memorial Tournament played here Saturday afternoon.
“The girls played very well offensively and defensively,” said Lady Rams coach Susan Oliver. “Everybody contributed in the championship win.”
All eight Ridgecroft players scored, led by senior Reagan King with 16 points, while Brooke Rose added 11.
Rose opened the scoring with a three-pointer and the Rams went on to score 11 of the next 15 – seven by King – and take a 14-4 lead after the first quarter of play.
Bethel tried to stay within 10 points of the lead in the second quarter, cutting it to 17-7 before Ridgecroft scored the final five points of the first half and carried a 22-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Sarah Conner opened the third quarter with a lay-up for the Lady Eagles before King made a free throw, followed by
Ridgecroft School’s Reagan King (in blue) drives against Ahoskie Christian School defender Calynn Wallace in Friday’s game of the Eric Baggett Memorial Tournament at Askewville. King scored 16 points as the Lady Rams defended their championship, downing host Bethel Assembly on Saturday, 43-32. | A.A. Imaging / Andre Alfred
field goals from Skylar Brown and Mandy Spence. Jenna Dunlow buried BACA’s first three-pointer of the game with three minutes left in the quarter, but King drained two more foul shots and padded the Rams’ lead to 29-12.
As Oliver cleared her bench, Bethel tried to make a fourth quarter run, scoring 10 in a row to get within seven at 29-22. But Emma Wood Boone and Sydney Lane scored back-to-back buckets to get the lead back up to 11 at 33-22.
Eliana Bazemore, who scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the quarter, tried to mount a Bethel comeback. She got the Eagles within four points of the lead with time winding down, 36-32, on a way-downtown three-point basket. But Ridgecroft made seven-of-nine foul shots down the stretch and held off the comeback for an 11-point win.
Bethel (1-1) begins a three-game road swing, while Ridgecroft (2-0) played at Halifax Academy on Monday before hosting the Nick Brantley Tournament Nov. 29-30.
RIDGECROFT GIRLS (43)
Reagan King-16, Brooke Rose-11, Emma Wood Boone-4, Sydney Lane-4, Olivia Daly-2, Mandy Spence-2, Skylar Brown-2, Matty Grace Gilliam-2
BETHEL ASSEMBLY GIRLS (32)
Eliana Bazemore-18, Jenna Dunlow-5, Haley Northcott-4, Lindsey Todd-3, Sarah Conner-2.