For the fourth time in five seasons, Chatham County will have two teams in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association regional championship round.
The second-seeded Seaforth girls took down No. 3 East Duplin at home 53-32 in the fourth round of the 2A East bracket Friday, advancing to its third straight Final Four.
On the same night over 100 miles away, No. 3 Northwood went on the road and knocked No. 3 Southwest Onslow out of the 2A East playoffs 59-44, appearing in its fourth Final Four in six years.
Both teams will play in their respective regional championships Thursday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Seaforth will play No. 12 Southeast Alamance for the fourth time this season (Seaforth leads the season series 2-1) for a spot in the 2A state final at 2 p.m.
Following that game, Northwood will tip off against No. 4 West Bladen at 4 p.m.
Here’s a more in-depth recap of Friday’s fourth round games:
Girls: Seaforth 53 – East Duplin 32
Seaforth knocked down nine threes (six in the first half) and got a huge lift from guards Gabby White and Katie Leonard to beat East Duplin Friday.
White, who finished the night with 21 points, scored 14 of the Hawks’ 17 points in the first quarter. She found ways to score all over the court, pouring in multiple second chance buckets at the rim and starting the night 2-for-2 from three in the opening period.
“Just getting to the basket and getting my teammates involved,” White reasoned for her early success. “That kind of opened up the game for me. Usually, teams like to focus in on me, so having my teammates know to have my back and being able to knock down those shots, I think that helped a lot.”
Junior guard Mia Moore kept the three-point party going with two more triples in the second quarter. Senior Peyton Collins and sophomore Abigail Morgan also each contributed a three before the half, but thanks to some solid looks in the paint (including second chance points) and free throw opportunities, East Duplin hung around to trail 31-21 at the break.
“We wanted to pick up our intensity,” Seaforth coach Charles Byrd said. “We felt like they were a little more intense than us in the first half. The biggest thing for us was coming out in the second half, turn up the energy and turn up our defense as well.”
Seaforth did exactly that, holding East Duplin to just 11 second half points.
Yet, the knockout punch was the resurgence of Leonard. Leonard only scored three points in the first half and started the night 0-for-7 from beyond the arc, however, she hit three of her last four triples, finishing the night with 16 points.
“I just tried to focus on what I could control which was getting stops, getting rebounds and finding my teammates,” Leonard said. “I knew shots would eventually fall.”
Boys: Northwood 59 – Southwest Onslow 44
Junior guard Cam Fowler scored a team-high 28 points and led the Chargers’ downhill attack in the win over Southwest Onslow Friday.
Fowler had an efficient and consistent night, shooting 52% from the floor and scoring 14 points in each half.
Northwood made just one three the entire night as it constantly attacked the basket and utilized cuts for open looks at the rim. As a team, Northwood shot 53% from the field despite going 1-for-10 from three.
The Chargers took control of the game after going on a 9-0 run sparked by a late first quarter steal from senior Beau Harvey that led to an and-one for Fowler on the other end. The run ended the first quarter and carried over into the beginning of the second.
Up 27-21 at halftime, Northwood outscored the Stallions 18-7 in the third quarter and took a 17-point lead going into the final period.
As they looked for easy shots in the paint, the Chargers forced Southwest Onslow into tough shots on the defensive end. The Stallions shot 3-for-21 from beyond the arc (36% from the entire field) and committed numerous turnovers that led to Northwood points.
Only the Chargers’ starters scored in the game. Senior guard Hayes Burleson went 7-for-7 from two-point range for 14 points, and senior Isaiah Blair poured in eight points. Junior forward Chad Graves, who was very active on the offensive boards, contributed seven points, and Harvey scored his only two points in the first quarter.
