Falcon's Nest - Keep Calm & Carry On!

vs. Trinity Academy of Durham and Chapel Hill Wednesday - 15 January

The O’Neal School  25 TADCH  21

 

vs. Fayetteville Christian School Thursday - 16 January

The O’Neal School  38  FCS  15

 

Our Lady Falcons took the court again this week with two home contests; a non-conference matchup against Trinity Academy of Durham and Chapel Hill and a conference matchup against Fayetteville Christian School.  In the first matchup of the week, our Lady Falcons found themselves in a battle against a very physically tough and big Trinity squad.  The Lady Falcons jumped out to an early lead but Trinity battled back as the Lady Falcons only carried a two point lead into half time, 12-10.  In the second half, Ashanti Fox asserted herself on the offensive end and led a very balanced scoring effort from her teammates as the Lady Falcons churned out a very tough 25-21 win.  Ashanti Fox led the balanced scoring attack with 10 points, while Hannah Saye (6 points), Mia Millard (4 points), Kayla Brown (4 points), and Kaylee Cow (1 point) also scored.

 

In their second game in as many days, our Lady Falcons hosted the Fayetteville Christian School Lady Warriors in a crucial conference matchup.  Our Lady Falcons jumped out to an early lead behind stellar half-court defense from the starting five of Ashanti Fox, Hannah Saye, Mia Millard, Kayla Brown and Reagan Daly.  The Lady Falcons turned the Lady Warriors over on five of their first six possessions and converted several of those turnovers into points on their way to a 10-2 first quarter lead.  The Lady Falcons continued their strong play the rest of game, executing sharply on both the offensive and defensive ends as they cruised to a 38-15 victory. During the game, 16 different Lady Falcons saw playing time and performed incredibly well.  The team’s leading scorer, Ashanti Fox, once again led the way with 25 points scored, while fellow starters Mia Millard (8 points), Hannah Saye (2 points), Reagan Daly (2 points) also scored.  Also getting into the scoring column with her first points of the year was Sofia Afable (2 points) who hit a big shot late in the game off of a pass from Justice McNeil.

 

The Lady Falcons welcome Grace of Sanford next week in their final home game of the season and then travel to Fayetteville Christian.

 

Victories vs.

Sandhills Classical (13 January)
Fayetteville Christian Academy (16 January)

Our Falcons continued with their winning ways with two more victories this week.  They had an all around performance from all Falcons on and off the court.  Their continued focus on excellence in practice and on the court is paying dividends.  The Falcons overwhelmed their opponents from tip off to the final buzzer.  The energy and excitement are high at every game. 

Our team endured another loss this week.  Harrison Franklin sustained a season ending wrist injury.  He is an aggressive competitor who does the right thing on every play.  His absence will be felt, but our Falcons have pledged to work harder to fill that void.

 

Mens 

TSDCH 412 

ONeal 364 

BCA 313.5 

CF 207.5 

 

Womens 

TSDCH 460 

ONeal 364 

BCA 352 

CF 60 

In a meet against Trinity Durham Chapel hill, Carolina Friends, and Burlington Christian, the Falcons were to secure a second place finish behind TSDCH. The teams new state qualifiers were Molly Kuzma in the 200 Individual Medley, Hayley Sager in the 50 free, and 100 breaststroke, and Charlie Kuzma in the 100 backstroke. Stand out swims from, Ana Huesa, Alexis Coates, John Shepherd and Jaden Bozovich.

 

                Friday, Jan 10th vs Trinity Academy (Win 57-26)

                Tuesday, Jan 14^th vs Carolina Friends (Win 37-16)

 

Last Friday night the Falcons hosted Trinity Academy of Raleigh for their annual Silent Night game. The Falcons jumped out to a quick start, thanks to their high-pressure defense. In Silent Night tradition, the crowd stayed quiet until the Falcons scored their 5^th point—a fast break layup by senior Hadiya Balser—which sparked an eruption from all Falcon fans in attendance. The energy in the gym sparked a 6-0 run until the Tigers of Trinity called a time out to settle their team. The Falcons stifling defensive pressure created 18 steals converting them into 30 points on the evening. Sophomore Caelan McHarney had a breakout night on both ends of the court, locking down Trinity’s leading scorer while running the Falcon offense with keen precision. McHarney posted a season high 17 points to go with her 6 steals and 6 assists. Joining McHarney in scoring were Hadiya Balser (17 points, 18 rebounds and 5 steals) and Aaliyah Balser (11 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals). The Falcons left no doubt Friday night who the top team in the Tri-TAC conference is sealing the 57-26 victory and holding sole possession of first place at 6-0 in conference play.

 

Tuesday night the Falcons hosted Carolina Friends for a Tri-TAC conference match-up. Defensive effort and energy led to 14 steals and 15 points off turn overs on the night. All Falcons in uniform saw extended minutes, and senior Ang Carr had a career night posting 7 points and 7 rebounds. Joining Carr in scoring were Hadiya Balser (12 points and 8 rebounds) and Kayla Jenkins (7 points and 3 rebounds). Sophomore Caelan McHarney anchored the defensive effort with 5 steals to match her 4 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 points. The victory moves the Falcons to 17-1 overall and 7-0 in Tri-TAC conference play.

 

The Falcons head to Salem Baptist on Friday, Jan 17^th before traveling to Durham to square off with Ravenscroft in the Jordan High School MLK Jr. Classic on Monday, January 20^th.

 

The Falcons played the best team in the TriTac conference and the #5 ranked team in the state at home on Friday evening and ran up against buzz saw. Trinity Academy of Raleigh was very impressive in their handling of O'Neal. You learn from every experience and there were lessons learned.   

 

O'Neal played home on Tuesday evening and were able to come out and put together their best performance of the year on the offensive end of the floor. Led by Jalen Lindsey's impressive 31 points and 2 different guys contributing "double-doubles" with points and rebounds. Sam Turner had 11 points and 14 rebounds, TJ McGraw had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kanye McKeithen just missed out with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Phillip Hancock was also a big contributor with 8 points and 6 rebounds. The Falcons took a 9 point lead in at halftime and the went on a 28-6 run in the 3rd quarter to break the game open. Everyone got to play and it was a fun team victory for the Falcons. 

 

With a record of 8-8 and 4-3 in the conference (currently 3rd place), the Falcons head on the road Friday evening to play at Salem Baptist Christian Academy with the tip time at 7:00. Then next week we have our final home, regular season game, for Senior night vs. Rocky Mount Academy with tip time at 6:30. Come out an honor the seniors, Joe Dailey, Jackson Martinez, and Patrick McMurray.