There's Only Four Left

Sometime in the early evening of March 10th there will be a girls basketball team that will hoist up a plaque in victory marking a State Championship.  There is only four teams left that can do that.  Out in the West Hickory the #1 seed in their sectional (28-1) will be playing Harding High (23-3) from Charlotte.  In the West bracket  they are a #7 seed.  The east will have the Gryphons 26-2 #2 in the sectional seed facing off with Burlington Williams the #2 seed from their sectional.  The winners of these two games one in Greensboro and the other in Fayetteville will meet for the State Crown at 5pm in the Dean Dome Saturday night March 10th.  The Lady Gryphons will wear white as the home team Saturday.

The boys also are down to four.  Out west a familiar name Concord is still alive.  They sit with a 27-2 record.  They play North Forsyth 24-4 for the right to head to the Hill on March 10th.  Crown Coliseum will host the Gryphons (26-3) and   Triton High from Erwin 26-3.  Both of these teams were seeded #2 in their sectional and due to the fact that the Big East has a higher priority this year over  the Mid State Rocky Mount will be the home team Saturday.

After thoughts of what I have seen so far in the 3-A Regional.  I see no reason why if Northern Nash had of been placed in the other Sectional Northern and Rocky Mount would have played for a fifth time .  Instead of the Sectional finals but the Regional Final.  Bad timing for trying the POD system in basketball.

If you see this blog on a daily basis you know early on I told you that the Lady Gryphons were not tall enough in the middle to win it all.  Amani Kipp has improved her game  so  much since Christmas.  All of a sudden there are two layers of defense a team must penetrate to score on the Lady Gryphons.  First they must negotiate the full court pressure that the guards apply and if you beat that either Kipp or Kelsy Daniels are there waiting.  West Craven wilted to the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter  and so did Northern Nash in the Sectional final.

One of the reporters covering West Craven boys  with about two minutes to go in the game whispered to me that he thought everyone with West Craven was surprised at the Gryphon speed.  They knew Rocky Mount was bigger but they thought their speed could off set that.  They didn't realize that the Gryphons were as quick as they were. There  was a play during the game that one of their guards put on an NBA move to get by our guards and after the moved he thought he had a clear lane to the bucket but K J Peoples was standing there  to bat his shot in the seats.  The Gryphon defense smother the Eagles just like the girls had done to their girls.

I have disappointing news to report.  We have not been able to work it out for the radio broadcast for this weekend.  We have been told that if both or either teams makes it to Chapel Hill we have a go to do radio.  Sure would like to do a Gryphon doubleheader from the hill.