Orange Women’s Basketball

On paper, and perhaps in practice, the Orange women’s basketball team was supposed to have an easy win over East Chapel Hill on Wednesday. The Wildcats only had five players. But even with the minimum about of players, its never easy for Orange at East. The Lady Panthers squeezed out a 37-32 win over a determined Wildcats team. Orange is now 4-1 in the Big 8 Conference with two league games remaining. Guard Samantha George finished with seven points, including a 3-pointer early in the first quarter. George and Aaliyah Harris have paired together for a high-scoring backcourt that has Orange on the verge of making the 3A State Playoffs for the third straight year. Orange hosts crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Friday night at Orange, which will be Senior Night for the Lady Panthers. Orange will travel to Vance County on Saturday.

Orange sophomore center Katelyn Van Mater had eight points and six rebounds in the Lady Panthers’ win over Cedar Ridge on Wednesday afternoon. Van Mater is in her second season on the varsity level. After playing regularly as a freshman, Van Mater is now backing up starter Erin Jordan-Cornel in the Lady Panthers’ lineup. Orange has now won three straight games. On Tuesday, the Lady Panthers defeated Northern Durham at Poe Gymtorium. Now 3-1, Orange is scheduled to travel to Vance County this Tuesday night as they search to make the state playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

For one night, Orange High Gymnasium resembled a pre-pandemic world.

That is, if you could ignore the empty bleachers. Well, empty except for Orange Principal Matthew Hunt and the Panthers cheerleaders.

On the floor, there was Aaliyah Harris leading the fast break, scoring on a lay-in and hitting the floor hard, but bouncing back up as she always does. On the other end, junior Jarmil Wingate locked down Southern Durham’s perimeter game. In the middle was sophomore Erin Jordan-Cornell, back in action on the hardwood after an abrupt end to volleyball season.

At a time where the template of a standard season has been thrown into the incinerator and any normal routine is a distant memory, it was nice to remember what the old normal was like.

The Orange women’s basketball team defeated Southern Durham 61-39 in its home opener at Panther Gymnasium on Friday night. Orange (1-1) was led by Jordan-Cornell’s 19 points and 16 rebounds. Harris added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Orange started the week under the assumption that the Big 8 Conference regular season would consist of 14 games. On Wednesday, the league’s athletic directors voted to change that, reducing the conference season to seven games. Teams can still play 14 games, the full allotment allowed by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association this season, but only the first seven games will count in the Big 8 Conference standings.

“Honestly, I don’t think there was a better option,” said Orange County B.J. Condron, who was in Wednesday’s meeting. “It doesn’t look like some teams will be able to get all their games in. If I had a better soluton, I certainly would have presented it. But I think that’s the only way to go right now.”

It was another reminder that as much as everyone wants to return to normal, things still aren’t normal.

Even during a pandemic, the Orange women’s team is used to each other. Harris, Wingate, Jala Rainey and Samantha George have each been on the varsity team for three years, and were AAU teammates years before arriving at Orange. Jordan-Cornell, Katelyn Van Mater and Nikayla Whitted were freshman on the varsity team last year.

“They had some good rhythm in the second quarter,” Condron said. “The thing that impressed me was when some of them got in foul trouble, our younger kids stepped up and played a huge role. Jada Reed had some good minutes. It was a good team win.”

Southern (2-3), who finished second in the Big 8 last season, doesn’t have a senior on its roster. Orange’s experience was apparent offensively, finishing with 19 field goals off 14 assists. Southern’s offense generally contested of jump shots and dribble-drives off turnovers. The Spartans were 1-of-24 from 3-point range and had only two assists.

Southern’s Chloe Richmond, who led the team with eleven points, hit two free throws to give the Spartans a 6-5 lead. Orange responded with ten consecutive points and didn’t look back. Harris opened the game with a 3-pointer and had nine points in the opening quarter. Jordan-Cornell scored seven.

Southern got field goals from Destiny Herndon and Kailyn Griffin to pull within 16-11 early in the second quarter, but Orange’s offense shifted into midseason form in its home opener with seamless transition offense from Harris, Wingate and Jordan-Cornell to mount an 18-4 run and settle into cruise control. Orange led 30-15 with 3:10 remaining in the first half.

Orange shot 5-of-9 from the field in the second quarter.

After dropping the season opener at Northwood last Friday, Orange is focused on its remaining five games that will count in the conference standings. Of course, there’s a chance the schedule could be adjusted whenever Orange Athletic Director Mark McCulley’s cell phone rings.

If there’s a season that fits the old Beatles’ song “Tomorrow Never Knows,” it’s this one. Somehow, it’s a mindset that Condron embraces through the most unusual season of his young coaching career.

“Honestly, it hasn’t phased me,” Condron said. “I’m looking at how many games can we get in? If we end up in one of the top spots, that’s great. If we don’t, then at least we got to play this year. Because there was a time where it wasn’t even looking like we weren’t going to play. So I tell the team to play every game like it’s their last. Because it could be.”

Orange 61, Southern Durham 39

Southern Durham-Rymiah Sanders 7, Briana Hughes 8, Kailyn Griffin 4, Chloe Richmond 11, RaShae Christopher 2, Destiny Herndon 1, Ashari Robinson 6.

ORANGE: Samantha George 8, Aaliyah Harris 17, Jarmil Wingate 7, Erin Jordan-Cornell 19, Makayla Alston 1, Jada Reed 3, Jala Rainey 4, Katelyn Van Mater 2.

Orange junior point guard Aaliyah Harris started her junior season much later than normal, but she make up for lost time. Harris registered 17 points, 6 rebounds and five assists as the Lady Panthers defeated Southern Durham 61-39 in Hillsborough on Friday night. Harris has played regularly on the varsity level since her freshman year. Last season as a starter, Orange made the state playoffs for the second straight year. This year, Orange will play a maximum of 14 games, but Harris is determined to make the most of it. She’s surrounded by teammates Jarmil Wingate, Samantha George, Jala Rainey and Erin Jordan-Cornell, who have been on the varsity level for several years. Orange, 1-1, will travel to Northern Durham on Tuesday night.

In its home opener, the orange women’s basketball team defeated Southern Durham 61-39 on Friday night. Sophomore center Erin Jordan-Cornell finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds as the Lady Panthers earned its first win of the season. Jordan-Cornell was an outside hitter on the Orange volleyball team in November, so she’s had time to get in shape. Though it was only Orange’s second game of the season, Jordan-Cornell played like an experienced veteran against the Spartans, making 9-of-10 free throws. She also found teammate Samantha George on a transition basket in the third quarter to help the Lady Panthers pull away. Orange travels to Northern Durham on Tuesday night looking to go to 2-1.

“I bet it’s going to come to me, knowing my luck.”

That was running through Grace Andrews’ head as she stared at a crowded grandstand at N.C. State’s Doak Field.

She wanted to be wrong because there was a state championship riding in the balance.

She wasn’t.

Andrews was a freshman playing 2nd base, which wasn’t even her standard position through her young career. The Orange softball team led Piedmont 4-1 in game two of the 3A State Softball Championships on June 3, 2017. The Lady Panthers were one out away from becoming the first women’s team in school history to win a state championship.

It was already so hot that Orange pitcher Christina Givens got lightheaded in the middle innings. She had to receive carbonated drinks and breath mints from Orange trainer Emily Gaddy in the dugout to finish the game.

Sure enough, the final out rolled Andrews way, and when she calmly touched second base, it set off a raucous celebration.

“It was so hot,” Andrews said. “But it worked out. I think about that team a lot. It was the most talented team I’ve been on. I wish I could have played with them longer and so many of them didn’t graduate right after that.”

Four years after that climatic finish, Andrews is winding down her high school career in the meekest way imaginable. With the hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, her senior season has likely ended after only four games.

After starting for four years on the softball team, a ceremony to celebrate Andrews signing with a college team is richly deserved and standard. Of course, these are not standard times. School has been closed across Orange County since March 16.

Instead of a lunchtime gathering inside Orange High Gymnasium with hundreds of her schoolmates, coaches and teachers on hand, Andrews held a quaint ceremony to sign with Hickory’s Catawba Valley Community College at her family’s home last week. On hand was her father, Chris, her mother, Jeanne Stroud and her husband, Hal, along with grandfather Dennis and Orange assistant coaches Tonya Daye and Jennifer Batts.

It was an adjustment to benefit the greater good, something that has become customary for Andrews.

As a middle schooler on Barnes’ summer travel team, Andrews played catcher and first base. When she moved up to Orange in 2016, Panthers Coach Eddie Davidson wanted her in the starting lineup immediately, even if it meant rearranging his infield.

Andrews’ fellow freshman, Jaden Hurdle, was already penciled in at 1st base. Knowing that Andrews would be comfortable on the right side of the infield, Davidson asked senior 2nd baseman Abby Hamlett to move to shortstop so Andrews could be a regular starter.

Hamlett agreed.

“It made me really nervous,” Andrews said. “I didn’t know if I was going to do good. I did my best and worked hard. I had some good games and Coach Davidson was excited that I did well.”

It led to Orange winning the 3A State Championship. Andrews played 28 games for a squad that finished 26-3.

Andrews was also the last member of that championship team healthy enough to suit up this season. On March 10, she scored two runs as Orange rallied from a 7-1 deficit to defeat East Chapel Hill 10-8 in its Big 8 Conference opener.

Two days later, Coach Henry Horn informed the team that the season had been suspended after practice. It wasn’t supposed to feel final at the time, but it still did.

“I was upset,’ Andrews said. “We all were, but nobody showed it. I don’t think anybody wanted to think it was the end.”

Aside from her parents, Andrews’ biggest fan was her grandmother, who also played softball when slow-pitch was the main style for recreation and high school. Andrews called her “Maw Maw” and started her career at catcher, just as her grandmother did.

Andrews’ mother, Jeanne, played alongside Grace in a recreation co-ed league in Efland at Oak Grove Church.

When Maw Maw passed away in 2013, Andrews asked to move to 1st base on her travel team.

“Her Maw Maw also played softball and I think that was a big thing for Grace,” said Chris Andrews, her father. “She studies the game, she loves the game and is very competitive.”

While the short-term future for Andrews is unclear, the long-term future is more certain. Wearing a Catawba Valley jersey, she will compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

It also means she will compete in the same conference against Hurdle, her longtime teammate who signed with Patrick Henry Community College in November.

Andrews also played three seasons for the Orange women’s basketball team, where she was a regular rotation player on two squads that reached the state playoffs.

“When I think about Grace, I think about her toughness,” said Orange women’s coach B.J. Condron. “This year, she hit the floor hard in a game against Vance County. I went out to check on her and there was blood all over the floor. She chipper her front tooth. She goes to the bench to get some treatment from Mrs. Gaddy. I’m thinking she’s done for the game. Next thing I now, she’s ready to play. Grace is a ball player.”

Orange won 60-45. Andrews finished with nine points.

Grace also has a father and a grandfather who regularly officiate high school games in various sports. Dennis and Chris have officiated football, basketball, baseball and softball games. It’s not a path that Grace plans to follow.

“I thought about it, but I don’t think that’s for me,” Grace said.

“She is very quiet and shy,” Chris said. “I can see her as a coach one day after she’s done playing. She’s looking forward to transferring to a 4-year school after her time at CVCC.”

After winning it all as a freshman, Andrews is spending her final months of high school in her backyard, fielding grounders hit by her younger brother, Wyatt. It’s hardly the way Grace wanted to spend her senior season. Last season, Orange tied Cedar Ridge for the Big 8 Conference Championship, reached the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs and took D.H. Conley to extra innings before being eliminated 2-1.

At a time when the entire world is having to adjust to make things better for their fellow man, Grace Andrews is ending her time at Orange High the same way.

Except for her, it’s second nature by now.

Landon Riley: Liberty Baseball ended its year with a 10-7 record. The Flames defeated Kent State 7-2 on March 9 in Lynchburg, VA. Riley earned his second win of the season. He came out of the bullpen to throw two-and-two-thirds innings of shutout baseball. Riley faced eleven batters and scattered two hits and struck out two. It was a short but solid season for Riley. In seven appearances, he had a 2-0 record with four saves and a 1.46 ERA. In 12.1 innings, Riley had 15 strikeouts, allowed only three walks, six hits and two earned runs.

Bowen Collins: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team ended the year ranked #5 in the country. On March 10, the Bears defeated Assumption 17-12 at Moretz Stadium in Hickory. Collins scored a goal with 12:00 remaining in the game. Lenoir-Rhyne also defeated #1 Limestone 18-16 in the Crown Lacrosse Challenge at Hough High School in Cornelius on March 8. Collins scored two goals for the Bears, including a man-up goal in the second quarter to put the Bears ahead 7-4. He scored again with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Collins ends the year with seven goals and six assists in seven games. Since he is a senior, Collins can take advantage of another year of eligibility that was extended by the NCAA on Friday after the rest of the season was canceled because of the Coronavirus.

Zach Wright: Wright had a goal for Division II Mars Hill in a loss to 19-8 loss to North Greenville on March 11 at Meares Stadium in Mars Hill. Wright scored an unassisted goal with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter. This season, Wright had four goals and two assists in eight games. He is also a senior.

Jaylin Jones: Jones assisted on a goal for Pfeiffer in a 16-8 loss to Guilford at Afmfield Athletic Center in Greensboro. Jones set up Quinn Becraft on a goal that reduced the Falcons’ deficit to 10-5 with 8:55 remaining in the third quarter. Jones, a junior, played in five games this year for Pfeiffer.

Luke Hernandez: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf also played for Pfeiffer against Guilford. Hernandez, a sophomore, saw action in Pfeiffer’s last three games, including a 23-6 win over Averett on March 7. Pfeiffer went 2-4 this season.

Tyson Wolter: The former Orange High lacrosse goalkeeper is now at Division III Guilford after transferring from Pfeiffer. On March 11, Wolter faced Pfeiffer after he replaced starter Jack Rogers. Wolter plays 6:36 and made four saves. A freshman, Wolter played in two other games this season for the Quakers.

Aidan Poole: The Division III Greensboro men’s lacrosse team defeated Hampton 15-11 at Pride Field in Greensboro on March 11. Poole, who was an All-Big 8 Conference player at Cedar Ridge, started on defense for the Pride. He assisted on a goal scored by Austin Abourjilie in the third quarter. He also had a ground ball and created a turnover. Greensboro was 4-3.

Kate Burgess: The UNC rowing team finished 3rd in the Clemson Carolina Cup on March 7 at Lake Hartwell in Clemson, SC. Burgess, a freshman who made the rowing team last fall, was on the Varsity 8 team that finished fourth in a five-team race at a time of 7:38.63. Kate Pierce paced the boat that Burgess was rowing, along with Charlotte Melgard, Gabrielle Labrazzi, Juliana Micchia, Hannah Davis, Zoe Sang, Nicole Van Liew and Neeva Wernsman Young. This was the first, and only, race of the spring for UNC’s rowing team.