The Northwood girls basketball team beat Union Pines, 51-23, in the first round of the First Bank Charger Classic Wednesday.
For the Chargers, the big girls down low did most of the heavy lifting against the Vikings. Sophomore forwards Shaylah and Mikaylah Glover and freshman forward Maddie Brooks combined for 31 points with most of the buckets coming from close range.
“Especially at halftime, we talked about looking inside,” Northwood head coach Kerri Snipes said. “Knowing that we had the size advantage a little bit more tonight, (we) pushed the ball around (and) moved the ball to be able to try to finish inside.”
Dealing with some illnesses on the team, Northwood started the game with low energy, especially on the defensive end and on the boards. Union Pines converted some opportunities down low, but on the other end three pointers from Northwood’s guards Natalia Whitaker and Skylar Adams helped the Chargers maintain a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“We were able to hit some outside shots tonight which was great for the guards to be able to do,” Snipes said.
When Union Pines came out to defend the three in its zone, that’s when the middle opened up. Northwood began to pass the ball around until one of the Glover twins popped open in the paint, and the Chargers’ guards fed them all night.
Union Pines didn’t have an answer for Northwood’s post players by the second quarter, especially with the Glovers and Brooks shooting a combined 60 percent from the floor. The Chargers went into halftime with a more commanding 29-16 lead.
“We finished a lot better tonight than we have in the last couple of games,” Snipes said.
Outside of the scoring differences between the guards and the post players, the offensive strategy also showed up in the assist totals. After many drop offs in the paint, Northwood finished the game with 13 total assists.
Adams dished out the most with five assists.
Northwood was also able to create easy buckets in the second half with some takeaways on the defensive end. The Chargers grabbed five steals in the final two quarters to go along with a more spirited defensive effort, holding Union Pines to its lowest scoring total all season.
After the conclusion of the First Bank Charger Classic, the Chargers will host its rival Seaforth in a highly-anticipated Mid-Carolina 1A/2A showdown on Jan. 2.