Orange 56, Reidsville 36: Evelyn George finished with 22 points as was named the Most Valuable Player of the Martin Luther King Invitational at Reidsville High School as Orange defeated the Rams on Saturday. George also had seven steals and five rebounds.
Orange improved to 10-5. Sophomore point guard Maura McMurtry added 15 points, five assists and five rebounds.
Shannon Murphy finished with seven points and eight rebounds as Orange won its second game in less that 24 hours.
Orange 53, Person 25: Defense led the Orange women to its fifth straight win over Person. The Lady Panthers registered 24 steals, led by McMurtry with seven thefts, while holding the Rockets to one field goal in the second quarter.
McMurtry paced Orange with eleven points and seven steals. George posted ten points, five rebounds, six steals and two blocks as Orange went into exam break tied with Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference with a 4-1 record.
Cassie Jay paced the Rockets with 13 points, but Person was plagued with 32 turnovers. Jay hit a jumper to put the Rockets up 7-6 with 3:21 remaining in the first quarter, but Orange went on a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. Murphy scored off a steal from center Marshea Byrd to start the spurt, which was capped by a three-pointer from George off a feed from McMurtry.
Orange guard Natalie Roberson finished with a career-high seven points, including a three-pointer off a pass from Murphy to put Orange ahead 20-9. Alexis Stephens, in her first start, scored off a stickleback basket. Jay scored Person’s only field goal of the second quarter with 41 seconds remaining, but Marshea Byrd scored off a lay-in off a pass from George to put Orange ahead 27-11 at halftime. Orange shot 7-of-12 from the field in the third quarter.
Orange sophomore Addie Atkins, who finished with seven points, scored off a three-pointer early in the third quarter off a pass from McMurtry.
Orange will return home to face Eastern Alamance on Tuesday. The Panthers defeated the Eagles in the seventh place game of the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoops Invitational on December 30 in Haw River.
Eastern Alamance 39, Cedar Ridge 35: In a showdown for first place in the Central Conference, the Eagles used its size to defeat Cedar Ridge in Hillsborough.
Aliya Trollinger hit a free throw with 1:34 remaining in regulation to put the Eagles ahead for good. Moments earlier, Cedar Ridge freshman Calla Lundberg tied the game with a three-pointer to tie the game with 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Cedar Ridge guard Amiyah Ware paced the Red Wolves with 24 points. The Red Wolves were fighting uphill the entire night after the Eagles stormed out to a 16-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Ayanna Garner paced the Eagles with ten points. Center Makayla Thompson finished with nine points and 16 rebounds as the Eagles maintained its share of first place in the league.
Eastern Alamance out rebounded the Red Wolves 54-45. Cedar Ridge still grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. The Eagles took an 18-8 lead after Thompson scored off a pass from Trollinger with 5:07 remaining in the first half. The Red Wolves cut its deficit to 18-16 after Ware hit consecutive 3-pointers to end the first half.
The Red Wolves built a 26-22 lead late in the third quarter after a 3-pointer from Ware off a skip pass from Utley, who finished with four assists and 14 rebounds. Freshman Kate Finnegan scored a bank shot to give the Red Wolves’ its largest advantage, but Thompson scored on an old fashioned three-point play while getting fouled by Ware.
Ware scored on a lay-in to give the Red Wolves its last lead at 28-26 with 6:19 remaining in regulation. Trollinger tied the game with a field goal off an offensive rebound, and Nicole Hester put the Eagles ahead on a transition bucket assisted by Garner.
Cedar Ridge will travel to Walter Williams on Friday night for a doubleheader.