The Falcons Nest - January 6th

The Varsity Girls Basketball participated in the 8^th Annual Elite Exposure BIG H.I.T Classic hosted by North Raleigh Christian over the holiday break. Three competitive days of basketball saw the Falcons come out 3-0 and crowned Tournament Champions! Tamiya Judd and Ashanti Fox were named to the All-Tournament team, and Ashanti Fox was named the Varsity Girls tournament MVP.

 

Tuesday night the Falcons hosted 3A Forsyth Country Day to kick off the new year. A quick start saw the Falcons jump out to a 29-19 lead at the end of the 1^st quarter behind 3 deep 3’s from sophomore Ashanti Fox. The Falcons keep up the tempo turning their defense into quick transition buckets all night and pulling away with a strong 66-50 victory. The Falcons were led in scoring by sophomore Ashanti Fox 928 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists). Joining the scoring were Kennedy Moore (14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Tamiya Judd (8 points, 5 rebounds), Reily Johnson (8 points, 4 assists), Brooklyn Adams (4 points), and Clara Tanner (4 points, 6 rebounds). The Falcons moved to 14-1 overall and are currently ranked #3 in the MaxPreps 2A rankings heading into Friday’s matchup with #1 Wayne Country Day. Tip-off is set for 5:30 pm in the Hannah Center Gym.

 

The Falcons hosted Forsyth Country Day on Tuesday night. The Falcons offense and defense played well in the first quarter with a score of 18 to 12. The Falcons came up short in the second half with a score of 78-25. The Falcons were led in scoring by D'Marion Tomlinson (11 pts). Adding to the bunch were Malachy White (4pts), Nick Joyce (4pts), Kanye McKeithen (3pts), and Will Slagle (3pts).

 

The Falcons return back home on Friday for the annual Homecoming game against Wayne Country Day School. 

The Falcons hosted Forsyth Country Day School on Tuesday, January 3^rd at home. The Falcons got off to a slow start in the first half. Forsyth took advantage of the slow start to close out the first half with a 37-9 lead. The Falcons came out of the second half shaking off the holiday rust and found success on the defensive end limiting the scoring of Forsyth to only second-half points. The Falcons were able to score 16 points in the second half as well led by Andrew Pavlovich with a team-high of 11 points. The Falcons fell short to Forsyth with a final score of 25-55. Rounding out the scoring for the Falcons were Aaron Pavlovich (6 points), Will Haarlow (3 points), Gunnar Adams (3 points), and Max Pashley ( 2 points).    

 

The Falcons will close out the week on Friday January 6^th @home vs Wayne Country Day @4:00pm.

The Middle School boys’ basketball team competed in two, back-to-back hard-fought contests that came down to the final quarter.  On Wednesday, seven of the 13 players put points on the board, but came up short, losing the battle 28-21.  The top scorer of the day was the big man down below, Christian Lyles (10).  The Falcons then regrouped and went into Thursday’s contest against a conference opponent, Northwood Academy focused and well-prepared.  Trailing by nine points with 1:50 to go in the game, the Falcons defense stepped up with three repetitive steals with Wells Kuester hitting back-to-back 3-pointers followed by the final 3-pointer from Will Haarlow to tie the game with just over a minute to play.  After a foul on the opponent and made free throw, the Falcons were facing a tie game with just under 30 seconds to play.  After a timeout, the offense went to work winding down the clock in hopes to get one final attempt to pull ahead or take it into overtime.  The Falcons then relied on the big man down below, Christian Lyles (6pts) to do what Christian does, which is be big and dominate the paint for points.  With 1.7 seconds to go, the offense did just that with a quick pass down below with Lyles putting up the final point for the win.  Top performers for the day were Thomas McFayden (6pts, numerous rebounds), Jordan Cole (4pts, numerous rebounds), Will Haarlow (6pts, steals, assists) and finally Team Captain, Wells Kuester (8pts). 

 

The Falcons will continue next week with more conference play against Village Christian Academy.           

 

The O’Neal School - 9

Wilson Preparatory - 49

In the first game of the tournament, our Lady Falcons faced their toughest competition of the season in a very athletic and physical team from Wilson Preparatory Academy. Wilson’s full-court pressure frustrated the Lady Falcons and forced several turnovers throughout the game. Wilson capitalized on these turnovers and took an early lead that stretched as the game continued.    The Lady Falcons never found a rhythm in this one and ultimately fell to Wilson, 49 - 9. Emeli Michael scored 6 points and was chosen as the team’s MVP of the game by tournament officials. Gianna Maheu also scored, adding 3 points.

The O’Neal School - 35

Wayne Preparatory Academy - 12

During the tournament’s second day, the Lady Falcons took on Wayne Preparatory Academy. In their second game in as many days, the Lady Falcons used strong defense and several transition baskets from Gianna Maheu, as well as Livi Afable and Sofie Itegie to jump out to a 13-2 first quarter lead. The tempo slowed a bit in the second quarter, as each team concerted just one basket and the Lady Falcons took a 15-5 lead into halftime. Unfortunately for Wayne, the Lady Falcons came out of the half exactly the way they started the game and exploded for 16 third-quarter points, and ultimately cruised to a 35-12 victory. Gianna Maheu led all scorers with 19 points and was named the game’s MVP while Emeli Michael (8 points), Sofie Itegie (4 points), Lindsey Havenstein (2 points), and Livi Afable (2 points) also scored.

 

The O’Neal School - 31

Wayne Preparatory Academy - 7

For the second time in as many days, the Lady Falcons took on Wayne Preparatory Academy. This game would get off to a much slower start than the previous game. The Lady Falcons struggled to convert several attempts at the basket as the rim seemed to have a lid on it as multiple shot attempts rolled in and out. As the quarter was winding down on the Lady Falcons' last possession, Ella Vondekall drove to the basket and kicked out to LJ Duffy on the wing. LJ took Ella’s pass and promptly swished a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to end the quarter. LJ’s three energized the Lady Falcons as they scored 12 points in the second quarter and took a 15-4 lead into halftime and ultimately cruised to a 31-7 victory. Gianna Maheu scored a ggame-high16 points and received “All-tournament” recognition while Emeli Michael (6 points), LJ Duffy (5 points), Lindsey Havenstein (2 points), Sofie Itegie (2 points), and Callie McHarney (1 point) also scored.

The O’Neal School - 38

Trinity School of Durham - 26

In their first game back from the Christmas break, the Lady Falcons hosted the Lady Lions from Trinity School of Durham.  The Lady Lions struck first in this one and held a 2-0 lead for much of the quarter until a Gianna Maheu three-pointer, followed by several transition baskets by Emeli Michael vaulted the Lady Falcons to a 9-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter would see more scoring from both teams much more of a back-and-forth affair as the Lady Falcons carried a 20-10 lead into halftime. Despite several pushes from the Lady Lions in the second half and multiple three-point baskets, the Lady Falcons sustained their lead and finished with a gritty 38-26 victory against a very tough opponent. Gianna Maheu led all scorers with 21 points while Emeli Michael (10 points) while Sofie Itegie (2 points), Lillie Mcintosh (2 points), and Ella Vonderkall (1 point) also scored.

The O’Neal School - 40

Northwood Temple Academy - 21

In their second game in as many days, the Lady Falcons took on the Lady Eagles from Northwood Temple Academy in a crucial conference game. Judging by the final score, one might assume this was an easy and maybe even routine victory for the Lady Falcons, however, this one was anything but routine. The Lady Falcons jumped out to an early lead, unfortunately, foul trouble would send several Lady Falcons starters to the bench and ultimately limit their playing time for most of the second and third quarters. Fueled by Emeli Michael’s 11 first-quarter points, the Lady Falcons jumped out to an early 17-6 lead, but as many of the Lady Falcons starters’ fouls began to pile up, they looked to their bench for help. Three-pointers by Lillie Mcintosh, Ella Vonderkall, and a strong putback by Callie Garrison would help the Lady Falcons extend their lead as they went into halftime ahead 27-13. In the second half, the Lady Eagles made an early run and closed the gap as the Lady Falcons could only manage 2 third-quarter points and held a 29-20 lead heading into the final quarter. The bench would once again propel the Lady Falcons as Ella Vonderkall, Lillie Mcintosh, and Callie Garrison would combine to score 9 of the Lady Falcons' 11 fourth-quarter points and pulled away with a 40-21 victory, pushing their season record to 7-1 and 3-0 in the conference. Emeli Michael led all scorers with 13 points, while Lillie Mcintosh (8 points), Gianna Maheu (7 points), Ella Vonderkall (5 points), Callie Garrison (4 points), and Chesley Lucas (3 points) also scored.