Girls: Southeast Alamance 55 – Seaforth 53
PITTSBORO — Seaforth’s 52-game regular season conference win streak no longer stands after a down-to-the-wire battle with Southeast Alamance ended in a 55-53 home loss on senior night Friday.
The Hawks also suffered their first home loss since falling to Chapel Hill on Feb. 2, 2023. The Stallions split the regular season series with Seaforth after losing the first meeting 51-48 in January.
Seaforth had no answer for sophomore guard Natalie Lopez and junior forward Clara LaChapelle who led the Stallions with 19 and 18 points respectively.
LaChapelle provided a consistent offensive presence in the paint, starting the game with seven first quarter points and ending the night with nine fourth quarter points to lead the closing act. Her final basket on an assist from junior guard Shaniya Paylor (season-high 11 assists) gave the Stallions a 55-52 lead with under a minute to go.
Before that, Lopez knocked down five threes including a huge late-fourth quarter triple that put Southeast Alamance ahead 53-46 with just two minutes remaining in the game.
After what could’ve been the dagger from Lopez, Seaforth cut the lead down to one with triples from senior guard Peyton Collins and junior guard Mia Moore, who has missed most of the season due to injury. Playing its best offensive basketball of the night in crunch time, Seaforth’s fate ultimately came down to the free throw line.
Down three points, senior guard Gabby White got fouled with 19 seconds remaining and split the free throws to make it a two-point game. Southeast Alamance junior Ciara Payton followed that with two missed free throws on her own, setting up another chance at the line for Seaforth sophomore Annika Johansson after she got fouled while shooting on the next possession.
With four seconds remaining on the clock, Johansson missed both. Southeast Alamance secured the rebound and the win.
Southeast Alamance junior Inysia McIver also got a good share of open looks, scoring 10 of her 14 points in the third quarter.
Southeast Alamance shot at a 56% clip from the field as a team, but as well as they were playing offensively, Seaforth kept the game close with its own big shots.
The Hawks never trailed by more than seven points in the game despite only shooting at a 33% clip.
White didn’t have the best shooting night, going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc and missing shots from close range, but she was able to fight for offensive rebounds and crucial second-chance points that helped her reach a team-high 17 points.
Trailing 24-20 at halftime, White sparked a momentum swing immediately out of the break by following two of her own missed shots and banking in a contested layup.
After the Hawks forced a turnover on the ensuing Southeast Alamance possession, White found Collins open in the corner for three, giving Seaforth a 25-24 lead. White made another mid-range shot minutes later to extend Seaforth’s advantage to three.
Southeast Alamance turned things back in their favor rather quickly though, continuing to find looks inside and building a 50-43 lead late in the fourth quarter. However timely shots kept Seaforth alive once again as junior Katie Leonard, who scored 15 points on five made threes, hit a triple to spark the run continued by Collins and Moore on ensuing possessions.
Things began to look scary for Seaforth just moments later when Collins went down with an apparent lower body injury from an opponent running into her. Collins had to be helped off the court and didn’t return.
Seaforth’s loss loosened its grip on first place in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference as it fell to 12-1 in conference play. Second-place Southeast Alamance, which improved to 11-1 in the conference, now has a chance to create a tie for the top spot should both teams win out to end the regular season.
Boys: Southeast Alamance 60 – Seaforth 46
Southeast Alamance outscored Seaforth 16-5 in the third quarter to beat Seaforth 60-46 Friday and sweep the season series over the Hawks.
The Stallions went 5-for-8 from the field in the third quarter and made five free throws while the Hawks went 1-for-9 in the same period.
Seaforth, which was without its second leading scorer Nate Emerson, was in control during the first quarter and most of the second quarter, forcing Southeast Alamance into tough shots with its 2-3 zone. The Hawks led by as much as seven points in the second quarter thanks to offensive contributions from senior Noah Lewis, junior Patrick Miller, senior Christian Conrad and junior Declan Lindquist.
However, Southeast Alamance senior Khaleb Satterfield knocked down three triples and junior Nate Yellock made one of his two threes in the final three minutes of the first half to help the Stallions take a 22-19 lead at halftime.
Southeast Alamance never looked back from that point, leading by as much as 19 in the fourth quarter.
With the loss, Seaforth fell to 10-11 overall and 7-6 (fourth place) in Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference play. Southeast Alamance improved to 16-5 overall and 10-3 (third place) in the conference.