The CHSS Lady Canes brought the crowd to its feet on Saturday night with a 52-45 win over the Roxboro Community Bulldogs. The Lady Canes now advance to the fourth round of the 2018 Women’s Basketball Championships – 1A with an upcoming Tuesday game against Pamlico County.
Facing a team that they had never played before during the regular season, the Lady Canes continued their undefeated streak, bringing the total of games won to 25, in what Head Coach Earl Fountain called the “best game they played all year.”
“We were down by 10 points at one time,” he said. “But we stayed calm… It was the most complete game we played all year long.”
He noted that defense was a key to winning the challenging game against Roxboro. “Nyah [Machie] and Maya [Damitio] both played really good defense… and there was a lot of sharing during the game, which was key.”
Caroline Gray was the top scorer in the game with 24 points, while Savannah Scarborough had 13 points, Lexus Meekins had 9 points, and Nyah Machie had 6 points.
Free throws made a big dent in the game as well, with Caroline Gray making 7 out of 9 free throw attempts for a 78% average.
The Canes remained down for the bulk of the first two quarters, and were trailing by 4 points going into the third quarter with a 25-29 score.
But the Canes eked ahead in the third quarter, and held on to their lead for the rest of the game. Some very key rebounds by Meekins in the 4th quarter of the game, along with some key steals, inevitably put the Canes over the top.
Like Thursday’s home game against the Creswell Tigers, the island community showed up in full hurricane-strength force, with Canes flags and signs decorating the CHSS gymnasium, and fans packing the stands.
“Y’all took the bus, but we’re taking the championship,” read one foretelling banner.
And when the 4th quarter ended with the Canes ahead by 7, and Caroline Gray running out the last 20 seconds of the clock, the stands erupted.
The question now is can the Canes bring the storm to Pamlico County? There’s plenty of reason to be optimistic, according to Coach Fountain. “We’re playing the best we have all year.”
The Lady Canes will play the Pamlico County Hurricanes on Tuesday, Feb 27 at 6 p.m. Expect another tough game as the two hurricanes battle it out, as Pamlico County is 12-0 in conference play, and 24-1 overall.
Come take a little trip off island on Tuesday afternoon to bring the storm inland to Bayboro, N.C., and support our Lady Canes!
