Orange Women’s Basketball

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech women’s basketball team won the Region X Tournament Championship over Louisburg College 86-59 at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, VA on Saturday. It is the first championship in program history. Wake Tech, who entered the tournament as the #3 seed, won three games in three days. They opened with a victory over USC-Salkehatchie 88-65 on Thursday. The Eagles knocked off 2nd-seeded Cape Fear Community College 76-57. Cates, a freshman who graduated from Orange in June, will accompany the Eagles to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Tournament starting March 17 at SC4 Fieldhouse in Port Huron, MI.

Icez Barnett: The Division II Chowan women’s basketball team had its season end in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament. On Tuesday, Belmont Abbey defeated the Hawks 87-37 in Belmont. Barnett started for Chowan and played eight minutes. In her freshman season, Barnett played 19 games with four starts. She averaged 9.4 minutes per game and scored 39 points. Barnett averaged 2.4 rebounds per game. Chowan finished 6-21 overall, 6-16 in Conference Carolinas.

Marvin Jones: At the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Landover, MD, Jones earned the bronze medal in the high jump for North Carolina Central. Jones cleared 2.05 meters. North Carolina Central’s men’s team finished eighth with 23 points, its best showing since 2013. Jones concluded the indoor season with three individual championships.

Jamar Davis: At the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships at Notre Dame’s Loftus Sports Center, Davis finished seventh in the long jump at 7.37 meters. Davis, a sophomore, finished 20th in the triple jump at 13. 39 meters.

Jonathan Hall: At the Southern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Lexington, VA, former Cedar Ridge star Jonathan Hall had a new personal best in the 60-meter hurdles. Competing for Wofford, Hall finished 7th at 8.51 seconds. Hall earned two points for the Terriers’ team standings.

Bowen Collins: The Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team, ranked #17 in Division II, defeated #3 Adelphi 17-16 at Moretz Stadium in Hickory on March 1. It was the second-highest opponent the Bears have ever defeated. Collins assisted on a goal scored by LR’s Toron Eccleston that tied the game 11-11 in the third quarter. The Bears are 4-1.

Zach Wright: The Division II Mars Hill men’s lacrosse team is 3-4. On February 29, Lander defeated the Lions 23-10 inside Van Tyler Stadium in Greenwood, S.C. Wright, a senior who graduated from Orange, scored a goal and had an assist. He finished with three shots, two on goal. On Saturday, Catawba defeated Mars Hill 13-4 in Salisbury.

Aidan Poole: A sophomore for the Division III Greensboro College men’s lacrosse team, the Pride defeated Randolph College 16-5 on Saturday. Poole started on defense for Greensboro and had two ground balls and created one turnover. On Thursday, Greensboro defeated Chatham University 12-5. Once again, Poole started and scored his second goal of the season in the first period off an assist from Patrick Bell. Poole finished with two shots, three ground balls and created one turnover. Greensboro is 4-3 and will host Hampton on Wednesday afternoon at 2.

Luke Hernandez: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team scored 13 goals in the first half to blast Averett University 23-6 at Lefko Field in Misenheimer on Saturday. It was the Falcons USA South Athletic Conference opener. Hernandez, who graduated from Cedar Ridge last summer, created two turnovers and scooped up two ground balls for Pfeiffer.

Jaylin Jones: Jones, who graduated from Orange in 2018, is also a member of the Pfeiffer lacrosse team as a midfielder. He had a ground ball in the win over Averett. On Wednesday, Southern Virginia defeated Pfeiffer 23-14. Against the Knights, Jones had two ground balls and created one turnover. The Falcons are 2-3 overall.

Brandon Homsey: As a sophomore, Homsey has qualified for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Tournament. Competing for Ferrum College, Homsey finished third in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA over the weekend. On Friday, Homsey lost his opening match to Washington & Jefferson’s Alex Donahue 3-1 in overtime. That left Homsey needing to win four matches to qualify for the national championships. He started Saturday by pinning Waynesboro University’s Adam Rigney. Homsey earned a 3-0 decision over Jack Bauer of Wilkes University, then rolled past Michael Reinhart of York University 7-1. Homsey received a medical forfeit against McDaniel College’s Anthony Wuest, then won a rematch over Donahue with a 10-0 decision in the third-place match. Homsey is 33-10 with four pins this season.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team combined for its first no-hitter in 20 years when they defeated Marist 6-4 at Worthington Field on Saturday afternoon. Three pitchers participated in the no-no and Riley earned his first victory of the season in relief as the Flames won its fifth straight game. In two innings, Riley faced six batters and struck out three of them. Marist scored four runs on eight walks, three hit batters and an error, but no hits. On Friday, Riley earned his third save as the Flames defeated the Red Foxes 4-3. Riley retired four batters, striking out two and walked one. Liberty has won six in a row. They’re scheduled to host Elon on Tuesday in Lynchburg, VA.

Brad Debo: The #8 N.C. State baseball team swept all three games in the CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis over the weekend. On Saturday, the Wolfpack defeated Purdue 6-0. Debo went 1-for-2 with a run scored. It was his only action of the weekend. N.C. State is 11-0.

Phillip Berger: Berger suffered his first loss at William Peace University against Greensboro College on Saturday. The Pride defeated the Pacers 11-8 at Ted Leonard Park in Greensboro. Berger threw two-and-two-thirds innings. He surrendered eight runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three. Peace falls to 9-3, 1-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference after dropping two of three against the Pride.

Montana Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won the Alex Wilson Memorial Tournament over the weekend, finishing 5-0 against UAB, Alcorn State, and UT Martin. On Sunday, the Bulldogs swept a doubleheader, beating Alcorn State 9-1 and UT Martin 6-1. Montana went 3-for-5 on the day, including going 2-for-3 against the Skyhawks. It was her second multi-hit game of the year. She tied her career high with four assists against the Braves. She went 1-for-3 with a run scored against UAB in a 16=6 win over the Blazers on Friday.

Mia Davidson: Mia made her first start of the season at third base during Mississippi State’s win over Alcorn State on Saturday. She eventually moved across the diamond to first base for the first time in her college career. Mia went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s game against the Braves, which extended her hitting streak to eight, the longest by any Bulldog this season. The streak was snapped the following day in Sunday’s win over the Braves when Mia went 0-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. On Friday, Mia went 1-for-4 with a double in the win over UAB. Mississippi State is 18-3 . They will host UT Martin on Monday afternoon.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team surprised Louisburg College 87-73 in its regular season finale on Saturday at the Taylor Center in Louisburg. Lauren Cates, a freshman for the Eagles, returned to the starting lineup and scored 16 points off 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Cates was 4-of-6 from three-point range. She also had eight rebounds and three assists as Wake Tech avenged a 14-point loss from January. Wake Tech completed the regular season 18-7. They will travel to the Region 10 Tournament in Martinsville, VA, where they will open against USC Salkehatchie on Thursday night at 6 PM.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team rallied past Central Arkansas 6-3 at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS on Wednesday. UCA led 2-0 at the end of three innings, but Davidson sparked a rally with a triple in the bottom of the fourth. She scored off a groundout by Carter Spexarth. In the 5th, Davidson laced a single to left field to score Candace Denis. It was Davidson’s fourth multi-hit game of the year. Mississippi State improves to 13-3. This weekend, the Bulldogs will host the Alex Wilcox memorial Tournament, which will include UAB, Alcorn State and UT Martin.

Brad Debo: The #8 N.C. State baseball team defeated UNC Wilmington 11-0 in Raleigh on Tuesday night. Debo replaced catcher Patrick Bailey in the ninth inning. He didn’t make a plate appearance.

Icez Barnett: The Division II Chowan women’s basketball team ended the regular season on Tuesday night. Limestone defeated the Hawks 78-72 at the Helms Center in Murfreesboro. After starting the previous three games, Barnett came off the bench and played four minutes. Barnett played 18 games in the regular season. She averaged 9.4 minutes per game. She scored 39 points and grabbed 44 rebounds. Chowan will travel to Belmont Abbey, ranked #10 in Division II, in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament on Monday.

Kaylen Campbell: The season of the Division III Trinity Bantams ended in the quarterfinals of the New England Small Conference Athletic Conference on Saturday. Williams College defeated Trinity 65-56 in Williamstown, MA. Campbell played three minutes to end her sophomore season. This season, Campbell played 20 games. She averaged 10.9 minutes per game and 2.6 points per game. Trinity ends the year 16-9.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team played its final home game of the season by rolling past South Carolina Faith A&M 107-33 on Monday night in Raleigh. Cates came off the bench to score four points, grab four rebounds and dish out two assists. The Eagles, who are now 17-7, will travel to Louisburg College on Thursday night to finish the regular season.

Bowen Collins: Belmont Abbey men’s lacrosse team, ranked #6 in Division II, defeated the #16 Lenoir Rhyne Bears 12-7 on Friday at Alumni Field in Belmont. Collins assisted on Lenoir Rhyne’s first goal of the game, which was scored by Eric Dickinson. With that goal, Dickinson became the all-time leading goal scorer in South Atlantic Conference history. Collins had five shots, two on net, and one ground ball. The Bears fall to 2-1.

Zach Wright: The Division II Mars Hill men’s lacrosse team defeated Shorter 8-6 at Meares Stadium in Mars Hill on Wednesday night. Wright, a senior who played at Orange, had two shots. On Saturday, the Lions defeated Emmanuel 15-13. Wright scored a goal for the Lions and had two ground balls. Mars Hill is 3-2.

Aidan Poole: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf has started the last three games for the Division III Greensboro College Pride. On Wednesday night, Poole started as a defenseman as Greensboro defeated Ferrum 14-11 in Virgina. Poole also started in Greensboro’s 16-3 win over Oglethorpe University at Pride Field on Saturday. Poole scored his second college goal on February 19 in Guilford’s 16-9 win over the Pride. Last season, Poole played in eleven games for the Pride, but didn’t start in any of them.

These are golden times for Eastern Alamance athletics.

Last spring, the softball team captured the 3A State Championship on the strength of freshman pitcher Kenna Rae Dark. On a 20-player roster, they had only four seniors.

Last fall, the football team rolled through the 3A/2A Mid-State Conference undefeated and advanced to the 3A Eastern Regional Championship, where they lost to Southern Nash 32-29 in Mebane. They finished 14-1.

This winter, the Eagles’ women’s basketball team served notice that they will be a force to be dealt with for years to come, if not sooner.

As in the next two weeks.

Starting four sophomores, the Eagles eliminated Orange from the NCHSAA 3A State Playoffs 58-33 on Tuesday night inside Tal Jobe Gymnasium in Mebane. Laila Anderson led the Eagles with 20 points, while classmate Amiyah Evans added 17.

The Eagles, who won the Mid-State Conference Tournament last week and earned a four-seed, will host Jacksonville White Oak on Thursday night in the second round.

Orange, which ended the year 11-13, trailed 13-7 at the end of the first quarter. Samatha George and Grace Andrews hit 3-pointers in the second quarter to cut Orange’s deficit to 17-13, but the Eagles went on a 13-2 run to finish the first half and led 30-15 at the half.

Orange went scoreless for the first 4:15 of the second half. Eastern rolled off a 10-0 run to open the third quarter and put the game away.

“(Coach) Tim (Krotish) does a great job over here,” said Orange Coach B.J. Condron. “They played solid man-to-man defense on us the whole game. We turned the ball over several times. I knew one of the keys to the game was us not turning the ball over. And we turned the ball over.”

It was the second year in a row that the Eagles defeated the Lady Panthers in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Sophomore guard Aaliyah Harris was the only Orange player in double figures with eleven points, which was a fitting way for the season to end. Harris was forced to take an increased scoring role after sophomore Mary Moss Wirt injured her knee against Carrboro on December 12. Despite her best efforts, Wirt missed Orange’s last 20 games.

Nonetheless, Orange made the state playoffs for the fourth time in five years despite numerous injuries.

Collectively, Orange starters missed 30 games due to injuries or other commitments in a 24-game season. That’s after losing four senior starters from last year.

It was also a young team. On Tuesday, Orange started three sophomores, a freshman and junior forward Jala Rainey. The only seniors were Grace Andrews and Brenna Mehl.

Nonetheless, the Lady Panthers carried Big 8 Champion Northwood to overtime on February 5 in Hillsborough, defeated Vance County 60-45 to start 2020 and had three competitive games with Chapel Hill.

The Tigers won its opening round state playoff game at Southern Wayne on Tuesday.

“I’ll remember this team’s resiliency,” Condron said. “They could have had a number of excuses to give up this season. But they didn’t. They battled. They didn’t give up. They made some games close that probably shouldn’t have been close and won some games that they probably shouldn’t have.”

Andrews still has softball season ahead. She claimed a state championship her freshman year as a starting 2nd baseman for the Lady Panthers.

While Mehl’s athletic career at Orange is over, her future is blindingly bright. With a 4.6 grade point average, she plans to attend UNC or N.C. State to study biomedical engineering.

EASTERN ALAMANCE 58, ORANGE 33

ORANGE: Aaliyah Harris 11, Samantha George 3, Jala Rainey 7, Erin Jordan-Cornell 5, Grace Andrews 7.

EASTERN ALAMANCE: Laila Anderson 20, Kara Jones 7, Hali Watkins 6, Amiyah Evans 17, MaKenzy Tucker 4, Tashawna Garner 2, Ginia Lawson 2.

The Orange women’s basketball team had its season come to an end on Wednesday night in the 3A State Playoffs. For the second year in a row, Eastern Alamance eliminated the Lady Panthers in the opening round. Laila Anderson scored 20 points to lead the Eagles. It was the final game for Orange seniors Grace Andrews and Brenna Mehl. Andrews started playing on the varsity in her sophomore season. She was a regular rotation player for last year’s Orange team that won 19 games and finished 2nd in the Big 8 Conference. Andrews claimed a state championship early in her career. She was a second baseman for the 2017 Orange softball team that won the 3A State Championship at Dail Field in Raleigh over Piedmont. In fact, Andrews recorded the putout that clinched the title. Now that her basketball career has ended, she’ll start practicing for softball season on Wednesday. The Orange softball teams starts its season against Holly Springs on Wednesday in Hillsborough.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames baseball team has won three of its last four games. Former Orange Panthers pitcher Landon Riley had saves in two of them. Last Wednesday, the Flames defeated Radford 4-2 for its first victory of the season at Worthington Field in Lynchburg, VA. Riley had a four-out save, striking out three. He faced five batters. Over the weekend, the Flames took the final two games of its series against Seton Hall. On Saturday, Riley picked up his second save of the season. He threw two-and-two-thirds innings. Riley struck out two, yielded two hits and one earned run. He also appeared in Liberty’s game against Clemson on February 16, a 6-2 Tiger win. In one-and-one-thirds inning, Riley faced six batters. He struck out one and surrendered two hits and one earned run. The Flames are 3-4 and will host Longwood on Tuesday before preparing for a weekend series against Marist.

Brad Debo: The #12 N.C. State baseball team remains undefeated after sweeping Tennessee Tech at Doak Field in Raleigh over the weekend. Debo started as designated hitter in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, a 10-3 Wolfpack win. He went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the sixth inning. On Sunday, Debo started again and went 0-for-2. N.C. State is 7-0 and will face UNC Wilmington on Tuesday in Raleigh.

Phillip Berger: In his first start for the Division III William Peace Pacers, Berger threw a three-hit shutout (seven innings) as Peace defeated Mary Washington 7-0 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary on Sunday. Berger struck out five and walked only one. Berger, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in June with 21 career wins, made his first appearance with the Pacers in a 9-1 victory over Brevard on February 8. He struck out the only batter he faced in the first game of a doubleheader. Later that afternoon, Berger threw one-and-two-thirds innings in the second game of the doubleheader, striking out four over one-and-two-thirds innings. He yielded two hits and one run. Berger came out of the bullpen for long relief in a 17-inning marathon against Hampden-Sydney. Peace scored two in the top of the 17th to win 5-3 at Ty Cobb Ballpark in Hampton-Sydney, VA. Berger threw four-and-two-thirds innings, striking out four. He gave up only three hits, one run with no walks. Peace is 8-1.

Montana Davidson: Montana hit her first home run of the season for Mississippi State in its 10-4 victory over San Diego State on Saturday night. Montana went 2-for-5 in a doubleheader that started with a 6-2 loss to BYU in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at Palm Springs, CA. Against the Cougars, Davidson singled in her first at-bat and made a diving catch along the third base line. Montana is hitting .231.

Mia Davidson: Mia hit .294 with a triple and two RBIs over five games in the Mary Nutter Classic. Davidson went 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 6-3 victory over UC Riverside. She went 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the 10-4 win against San Diego State. Mississippi State is 12-3 overall and will host Central Arkansas on Wednesday.

Icez Barnett: As her freshman year winds down, Barnett continues to start for the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team. On top of that, Chowan has won consecutive games for the first time since the start of 2020. On Wednesday, Chowan defeated Southern Wesleyan 69-58 at Tysinger Gym in Central, S.C. Barnett, who started at forward, scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes. She also had two blocks and one steal. On Saturday, Chowan won a thriller over Lees-McRae 71-68 in overtime in Murfreesboro at the Helms Center. Barnett scored three points, grabbed two rebounds, dished out two assists and made two steals in 16 minutes. Chowan is fighting for a spot in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. The Hawks will commemorate senior night against Limestone on Tuesday night. If Chowan wins, they will clinch eighth place and a trip to the conference tournament. The Hawks are 6-19, 6-15 in Conference Carolinas.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team lost to Catawba Valley Community College 62-52 at Tarlton Complex in Hickory on Thursday. Cates started but shot 0-2 from the field. She had three rebounds and five assists. Wake Tech will have its final home game on Monday night (February 24) against South Carolina Faith A&M. The Eagles are 16-7 overall, 9-6 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

For the fourth time in five years, the Orange women’s basketball team has made the state playoffs.

Instead of driving three hours to face an opponent they know by name only, the Lady Panthers will take a short hop up Highway 70 on Tuesday night to play in a familiar gym against a team they know very well.

Orange will face Mid-State Conference Champion Eastern Alamance in Mebane on Tuesday night. The Eagles finished the regular season tied with Northern Guilford for 1st place in the Mid-State 2A/3A Conference at 12-2. That tie was broken when the Eagles defeated the Nighthawks 46-43 in the Mid-State Tournament Championship game on Saturday night.

Eastern Alamance, coached by Tim Krotish, finished its conference tournament 22-4.

“We are really excited about being able to continue playing,” said Orange coach B.J. Condron. “It’s great that we don’t have to travel too far. We have our work cut out for us in a really good Eastern Alamance team, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”

Orange was the sixth and final team from the Big 8 Conference to make the 3A State Playoffs. They received a #29 seed, while the Eagles are seeded fourth.

The winner will face the winner of White Oak vs. Swansboro on Thursday.

This marks the second year in a row that Orange and Eastern Alamance will tangle in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Last year, Eastern used a trapping defense to frustrate the Lady Panthers and pull off a 57-52 upset in Hillsborough. It marked the end of an era for Orange, as seniors Icez Barnett, Lauren Cates, Grace Dively and Kate Burgess all played their final games in a Panther uniform.

It was especially emotional for Barnett, who started her career at Eastern Alamance before transferring to Orange for her sophomore year.

Orange almost annually visits Eastern Alamance for its Holiday Hoops Tournament. In December, the Lady Panthers played three games inside Eagle Gymnasium.

The Burlington School defeated Orange in the opening round 57-46. The Lady Panthers, who had lost sophomore guard Mary Moss Wirt to an injured knee two weeks earlier against Carrboro, rebounded to beat Bartlett Yancey and Riverside and finished in fifth place.

Orange (11-12) is coming off a 51-36 loss to Chapel Hill in the opening round of the ill-fated Big 8 Women’s Basketball Tournament last Tuesday. The Tigers never got to play its semifinal game against Southern Durham after the tournament was canceled because of snow Thursday.

Trailing 24-23 at halftime, the Lady Panthers traded the lead with Chapel Hill throughout the third quarter before the Tigers’ defense took over. Orange was held to four points in the final quarter, all scored by sophomore guard Samantha George.

Without the four senior starters from last year, Condron knew he would have a young team when practice started in November. He had no idea how young they would eventually be when Wirt went down with a season-ending injury on December 12. Wirt was Orange’s top returning scorer from last season and their top 3-point threat.

Sophomore forward Jarmil Wingate, senior Grace Andrews and freshman center Erin Jordan-Cornell have also missed games this year. Against Cedar Ridge on January 30, Orange even played without four starters (Jordan-Cornell, Wirt, Wingate and George) but still pulled out a 52-40 win on the Red Wolves’ senior night.

Sophomore Aaliyah Harris, one of only two players to appear in all of Orange’s 23 games, leads the Lady Panthers with 12 points per game.

The Lady Panthers are the third team from Orange to reach the state playoffs this year. The volleyball and wrestling teams both fell in the opening rounds of their respective tournaments.

The potential for snow on Thursday has led the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to postpone the opening round of the State Wrestling Championships.

The Big 8 men’s and women’s basketball tournament, which started on Tuesday, will now have to finish by Saturday–if it finishes at all.

In a statement released by the NCHSAA on its website on Wednesday night, the association postponed the first day of the 2020 individual wrestling state tournament due to the possibility of a wintry mix in the Triad. The tournament, scheduled to begin on Thursday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum, is still slated to conclude on Saturday night.

“The NCHSAA Staff is working on a schedule that will still allow the tournament to be completed on Saturday night,” the statement read. “More details and an updated schedule will be released Thursday through the NCHSAA Website and other communication avenues.”

Orange High had three wrestlers scheduled to start competing on Thursday. Brendon Worsham, who finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals last weekend at Cape Fear High, will take on Justin Bellran of St. Stephens, who came in 3rd in the West Region.

At 126 pounds, Orange’s Kessel Summers will square off with Havelock’s Nate Lucio in the opening round. That will be a rematch from earlier this year. On January 11 in the Havelock Duals, Summers scored a major decision over Lucio 14-5. Summers finished 3rd in the Mideast Regionals.

Xavier Tinnen, seeded 4th, will face Midwest Regional champion Amir Joseph of Parkwood in the opening round. Tinnen, who is 22-8, qualified for the state championship for the first time last weekend after a fourth place finish.

The respective Big 8 basketball tournaments were supposed to resume on Thursday with doubleheaders at Northwood High in Pittsboro and Southern Durham High. Both Chatham County and Durham Public Schools announced on Wednesday night that schools would be closed on Thursday, leading to the postponement of the four scheduled games.

At Southern Durham, third-seeded Chapel Hill will face second-seeded Southern Durham in the women’s game at 6, followed by the men’s game between third-seeded Vance County vs. 2nd-seeded Southern Durham.

The Northwood women’s team is slated to face 5th-seeded East Chapel Hill in the other semifinal at 6 in Pittsboro. At 7:30, the top-seeded Northwood men’s team will host 5th-seeded Chapel Hill.

The postponement means the semifinals are now scheduled for Friday night, and the championship games on Saturday at the higher-seed’s gymnasium. However, the tournament must be completed by Saturday. Another cancellation on Friday likely means the tournament won’t be completed.

If that’s the case, Northwood will be the #1 seed from the Big 8 Conference in both the men’s and women’s tournaments since they won the regular season championship in both races. Southern Durham finished runner-up in both races and would get the #2 seed (normally, the tournament winner would get the #2 seed if it isn’t one of the top two teams).

On Thursday morning, the NCHSAA announced that seeding for the state playoffs would be delayed until Sunday morning.

All four Hillsborough teams were eliminated in the opening rounds of the Big 8 Tournaments on Tuesday. The only local squad with a chance to earn a state playoff spot is the Orange women’s team, who finished 6th in the Big 8 Conference and has a MaxPreps ranking of #59. HighSchoolOT, run by Nick Stevens, has repeatedly had Orange as among the last five teams in the state playoffs in recent projections. If the Lady Panthers make the field of 64, it would be their fourth trip to the state playoffs in the last five years.