JV Boys Basketball: Orange 75, Rockingham County 54: Riding a 28-10 in the final six minutes of the third quarter, the Orange junior varsity team won the Rockingham County Holiday Tournament championship game in Reidsville on Friday night.
Jamari McDaniel led all scorers with 22 points as the Panthers defeated the Cougars in the championship game. McDaniel shot 10-of-13 from three-point range and added six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Ethan Ellis chipped in 14 points for the Panthers, including 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
McDaniel and Ellis were named to the All-Tournament team.
Orange jumped out to a 15-5 lead behind the play of McDaniel and Ellis. Freshman Graham Coleman, who appeared in some varsity games in the absence of Coleman Cloer and Kai Wade earlier this month, fed Ellis for a three-pointer to put Orange ahead 15-3 with 4:22 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Cougars fought back and actually tied the game at 33-33 with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter. Then John Gray and Coleman hit consecutive 3-pointers for Orange to trigger a run that put the Panthers ahead for good.
Coleman fed Ellis for a 20-footer, which led to McDaniel forcing a steal and finding Jalen Crayton for a lay-in to put Orange ahead 49-40.
In the opening round of the four-team tournament, the Panthers defeated Morehead High 82-48.
Women’s basketball: Western Alamance 62, Cedar Ridge 38: In its Central Conference opener, the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team lost star guard Amiyah Ware on the opening play of the second quarter.
Ware went up for a block and came down on her right knee, which she tore before the start of the 2022-2023 season. After a lengthy period of time in the locker room, Ware eventually came out to watch the final minutes on the bench, but she didn’t return to action.
Ware opened the game on fire, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers. Cedar Ridge led 22-13 at the end of the first quarter, but they crumbled without their All-Conference guard. Western Alamance, who finished second in the Central Conference last year, had a huge game from Tina Bowers, who finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and seven steals. Cayden White added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Without Ware, Cedar Ridge committed 31 turnovers. Junior Sarah Utley finished with eight points and four assists. The game was tied 31-31 at halftime, but the Red Wolves were held to only seven points in the second half. The Warriors outscored Cedar Ridge 22-4 in the third quarter.
Western Alamance improved to 4-2 after winning its conference opener.
Clover Garden School 43, Cedar Ridge 33: In the opening round of the Don Amos Basketball Classic at Graham High School, Clover Garden School received a big game from Kennedy Harrelson to defeat the Red Wolves. Harrelson finished with 13 points for the Grizzles, while Arissa Duff added ten points, eleven rebounds, six assists and six steals at Clover Garden improved to 8-4.
Playing without Ware, Cedar Ridge got off to a strong start from the field. The Red Wolves got a three-pointer from Jamee Watson and a field goal from Cameron Copeland to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Ultey scored on a jumper to increase the Red Wolf lead to 10-2.
Cedar Ridge senior Cierra Copeland scored an old school three-point play to lengthen the Red Wolf lead to 13-6 with 3:01 remaining in the opening quarter, but the Grizzles got consecutive field goals from Harrelson. Cedar ridge went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter with Utley ending the frame on a three-point shot to take a 19-12 lead.
Clover Garden scored nine straight points in the second quarter to take a 23-19 lead. Duff scored on a lay-in assisted by Makayla Quimby to assume its first lead at 21-19 with 4:20 to go in the second quarter.
Cedar Ridge (4-5, 0-1 in the Central Conference) will return to action against Person on January 2 in Hillsborough. That will be a varsity doubleheader with the women’s game tipping off a 6PM.