Orange Women’s Basketball

GIBSONVILLE–B.J. Condron will be in a tie and slacks on the sidelines Wednesday night.

That’s not an everyday occurrence for his Orange women’s basketball team. Or even a monthly one.

The first time he wore a tie as a head coach was on December 31, 2015. It was Condron’s first tournament championship game. Going into the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Tournament in Mebane, Condron promised his team if they reached the championship game, he would show up better attired than usual.

Sure enough, after Orange defeated Cardinal Gibbons in the semifinals, Condron used a few gift cards he received for Christmas and purchased new threads at Tanger Outlets. He not only coached in a tie that night, he also celebrated in one.

Games come and go in basketball, but playing for a tournament championship is special. So Condron sets the tone.

Condron’s current edition of the Orange women’s basketball team reached a holiday tournament championship game for the first time since 2018 on Tuesday night and gained a measure of revenge in the process.

Orange, just eleven days after losing to Central Carolina Conference rival Walter Williams, defeated the Bulldogs 53-47 in the semifinals of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational. The Lady Panthers will face Northeast Guilford in the championship game on Wednesday night at 7.

Senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell, who missed the first game against Williams, had 14 points for the Panthers (6-8). Sophomore forward Evelyn George also scored 14.

Orange reached its first championship final in any tournament since 2018, when they played for the championship of the Granville Central Christmas Tournament. Ravenscroft defeated Orange for the title.

On December 18, Williams held off Orange 49-45 in Burlington.

“We came out in the first half ready to play,” Condron said. “Obviously, having Erin back helped us out a lot. We got shaky at the end. Williams did a heck of a job pressuring us and making shots. We were lucky to make some free throws, but not all, and close it out.”

The Bulldogs, who had defeated Orange four straight times, made a furious comeback after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half. Briahna Scott, who appeared to be on a one-woman mission to lead the Bulldogs into the championship game, had 20 points for Williams, 13 in the fourth quarter.

George scored ten points in the first half and knocked down some crucial free throws in the final minutes after the Bulldogs narrowed Orange’s lead. George, a sophomore, is the team’s leading rebounder who had 13 against the Burlington School on Monday.

“I think Evelyn has an instinct for the ball,” Condron said. “When you watch her, I think she tries to position herself on defense and anticipate when the shot goes up. She can jump. We have tall players, but in terms of a vertical leap, she’s one of our best jumpers.”

Orange didn’t have a field goal in the opening 4:43 of the fourth quarter, which allowed the Bulldogs to climb within five points after a lay-in by Jordan Taylor. Lady Panthers Sophomore Addie Atkins responded with a clutch three-pointer, her second of the game, to bring Orange’s lead back to nine points.

Scott wouldn’t let the Bulldogs die quietly. She scored off a strip and steal for a lay-in, then stole the subsequent inbounds pass, was fouled and sank two free throws to cut the Orange lead to 46-41 with 2:46 remaining.

Williams missed various opportunities to draw closer, including several shots from point-blank range. Orange’s Nikayla Whitted made them pay with a dagger of a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining to extend Orange’s lead to 49-41.

Orange played its best half of the season in the opening 16 minutes. After senior Jada Reed fed Whitted on a lay-in to complete a 2-on-1, Orange led 22-11. Williams coach Jason Cheek immediately called timeout and turned his volume tone to 11 in a full-throttled scolding of his team audible to everyone within the gym.

Seven different Lady Panthers scored in the first half. There were three lead changes in the opening four minutes, but Orange didn’t trail again after the first quarter.

ORANGE 53, WILLIAMS 47

ORANGE: Evelyn George 14, Erin Jordan-Cornell 14, Jada Reed 3, Nikayla Whitted 7, Addie Atkins 8, Maura McMurtry 3, Marshea Byrd 2, Katelyn Van Mater 2.

WILLIAMS: Kamryn Russell 8, Jainasia Bailey 8, Scout Winter 3, Briahna Scott 20, Regan Averett 2, Jordan Taylor 6.

The Orange women’s basketball team will play for the championship of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers held on to defeat Walter Williams 53-47 in Gibsonville. It was the second game between the Lady Dawgs and the Lady Panthers In eleven days. On December 16, Williams defeated Orange 50-45, but the Lady Panthers were without senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell. On Tuesday, Jordan-Cornell immediately made her presence felt and finished with a team-high 14 points. Sophomore Evelyn George also scored 14 points as the Lady Panthers reached a tournament final for the first time since 2018. The Lady Panthers led by as many as 14 in the second half. Senior Nikayla Whitted and Sophomore Addie Atkins both drained crucial 3-pointers in the final three minutes as Orange ended a four-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. Orange will go for its first tournament championship since 2017 on Wednesday night. They will face Northeast Guilford at 7 PM at Eastern Guilford High. Last year, Orange defeated the Rams 52-27. It was head coach B.J.  Condron’s 100th win as head coach of the Lady Panthers.

Orange’s Erin Jordan-Cornell & Evelyn George discuss win over Walter Williams

The Orange women’s basketball team will play for the championship of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers held on to defeat Walter Williams 53-47 in Gibsonville. It was the second game between the Lady Dawgs and the Lady Panthers In eleven days.

Through the first half of the season, it’s been a tall task for the Orange women’s basketball team to get healthy. With one key reserve out for the year with a knee injury, they probably never will be.

For the first time in two weeks, the Lady Panthers did have its senior starting front line available for the start of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Basketball Tournament, which led to the end of its four-game losing streak.

Behind senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell, who finished with eleven points, eight rebounds and six assists, the Lady Panthers survived a late rally to defeat The Burlington School 54-44 in the opening round of the eight-team tournament on Monday morning in Gibsonville.

Orange (5-8) advances to face Central Carolina Conference rival Walter Williams in the semifinals on Tuesday afternoon. Williams defeated Reidsville 75-50 in the opening round.

The victory marked Orange’s fourth straight win in the Eastern Guilford Tournament. Last year, the event was simply comprised of three games as opposed to a full-fledged tournament. In 2021, Orange defeated Reidsville, Eastern Guilford and Northeast Guilford, the last of which was coach B.J. Condron’s 100th career win.

Jordan-Cornell’s 6-foot-1 frame was able to pass over the smaller Spartans and frequently found sophomore Evelyn George for the game’s biggest baskets. George, who finished with eight points and 14 rebounds, opened the game with a lay-in off a feed from Jordan-Cornell. George canned Orange’s only 3-pointer of the first half off a pass from senior Jada Reed to put the Lady Panthers ahead 7-0 with 4:41 remaining in the first quarter.

Jordan-Cornell connected on consecutive field goals in the second quarter, the latter off a pass from Reed to give Orange its largest lead at 22-8.

The Burlington School coach Porsha Graves started pressing in the second half, which drew the Spartans closer.  Guard Xiomara Moser banked in a 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run. Kiya Shavers, who finished with 21 points, hit back-to-back field goals to draw the Spartans to 37-33 with 7:27 remaining.

Afer Kamilah Moore hit a free throw, George beat the Spartans full-court press and passed to Jordan-Cornell, who scored on a lay-in. Reed followed with a steal as she picked the ball away from Aaliyah Coley and laid it in to extend Orange’s lead to 41-37. Following another 3-pointer from Shavers, Nikayla Whitted hit Jordan-Cornell for another lay-up.

A minute later, Jordan-Cornell would return the favor with a permitter dish to Whitted for a three-pointer. Sophomore Maura McMurtry, in her first varsity season, drained a shot from downtown to return the Lady Panther lead to double-digits at 50-39 with 3:49 remaining.

Orange had 19 field goals on 14 assists.

Whitted and Jordan-Cornell each had eleven points to lead Orange. Reed added ten points. Atkins, another first-year varsity player, finished with seven points and six rebounds.

With the win, Orange set up a rematch against Williams. On December 16, the Bulldogs outlasted Orange 50-45 at Bulldogs Gymnasium in what may have been the Lady Panthers’ best game of the year. Orange played without Jordan-Cornell and guard Shannon Murphy, but was still tied with the Bulldogs 32-32 at the end of three quarters.

Most of Orange’s production came outside the arc. They shot 8-of-21 from 3-point range. Atkins had a career-high 12 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from deep. Reed finished with 13 points, but the Bulldogs Bri Scott proved to be the key factor with 16 points as the Bulldogs defeated Orange for the fourth straight time.

The winner of the Orange-Williams game will play in the championship game on Wednesday night at 7PM. Orange’s last holiday tournament championship came in 2016, the most successful Lady Panthers women’s team in school history. Orange captured the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops championship with wins over Southern Alamance, Cardinal Gibbons and Bartlett Yancey in Mebane. The win over the Buccaneers came on December 31, 2016, which the team posting for a championship photo just hours before they rang in the new year.

Leading up to its first round of Central Carolina Conference games, the Orange women’s basketball team had a successful week in two nonconference games. On December 6, the Lady Panthers held on to defeat Carrboro 41-36 at Jaguars Gymnasium. Senior guard Nikayla Whitted led the Lady Panthers with 14 points, while senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell added seven points. Sophomore Addie Atkins, in just her sixth varsity game, canned a crucial 3-pointer to put Orange ahead for good with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Orange returned home on Friday night to defeat Durham School of the Arts 72-34 in Hillsborough. Jordan-Cornell had the first double-double of the season for the Lady Panthers with 22 points and ten rebounds. Sophomore Evelyn George added ten points. Fellow senior Jada Reed added eight points for Orange against the Bulldogs. Earlier this year, Reed scored 12 points in the Lady Panthers’ season-opening win over East Chapel Hill. The Lady Panthers will start CCC play tonight with a road trip to Western Alamance. Tipoff will be at 5:30 and you can hear the game on Hillsboroughsports.com.

Orange’s Nikayla Whitted & Jada Reed discuss win over Carrboro

Leading up to its first round of Central Carolina Conference games, the Orange women’s basketball team had a successful week in two nonconference games. On December 6, the Lady Panthers held on to defeat Carrboro 41-36 at Jaguars Gymnasium. Senior guard Nikayla Whitted led the Lady Panthers with 14 points, while senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell added seven points.

The new era of Orange High women’s basketball got off to a successful start on Friday night. In the season-opener at Panther Gymnasium, Orange defeated East Chapel Hill 48-31. Orange senior guard Jada Reed led Orange with 12 points, seven of which came in the second half. At the conclusion of last season, Orange lost guards Aaliyah Harris and Samantha George, forwards Jarmil Wingate, Haley Reynolds and center Aisha Caron. The season opener was the varsity debut for five Orange players, including freshman Maura McMurtry and sophomore Shannon Murphy. After spending the past two years playing off guard, Reed is now the full-time point guard for the Lady Panthers. She joins senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell and forward Katelyn Van Mater as the veterans on a squad that hopes to return to the 3A State Playoffs this season. Orange, which captured its season opener for the fifth time in seven years, will travel to Chapel Hill on Tuesday night for its final game before Thanksgiving break. 

After four years together on the Orange women’s basketball team, Aaliyah Harris and Samatha George got to play one final game as teammates.

It was poetic justice after the heartbreaking way Orange’s season ended in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs on February 22. The Lady Panthers led 40-23 at Fayetteville 71st at halftime, only for the Falcons to mount an incredible comeback, outscoring Orange 45-13 in the second half to win 68-53.

Harris and George deserved better than a bad goodbye. They got it in, of all places, Ayden.

On March 26, Harris and George teamed up on the 919 Faison squad in the Clash of the Area Codes All-Star Game at Ayden-Grifton High School. Harris scored 14 points to help 919 Faison win over 252 Pittman 62-57.

Harris and George had different roles when they joined the varsity team as freshmen in 2018-2019. When Harris became Orange’s starting point guard at the start of her sophomore season, she looked to pass first. Her main backcourt option was Mary Moss Wirt, an ace shooter who canned a game-winning 3-pointer against Chapel Hill in 2019, which propelled Orange to a second-place finish in the Big 8 Conference. George was the fourth guard off the bench.

Things changed after a December night in 2019 when Wirt was injured in a game at Carrboro. From that point forward, Wirt concentrated on her main sport, softball, which she will play at Elon next winter.

After Wirt left basketball behind, George replaced her in the starting lineup. Harris became more aggressive shooting and looked to score first, while George became more reliable as a 3-point threat.

Together, they led the push as Orange returned to the 3A State Playoffs last winter. They also helped Head Coach B.J. Condron win his 100th career game on December 29 against Northeastern Guilford at the Eastern Guilford Holiday Hoops Showcase in Gibsonville.

Harris and George each earned postseason honors. They both were named to the All-Central Carolina Conference first-team. In addition, they were also named to the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association All-District 3 team.

Harris was named to the All-District 3 First-Team, while George made Third-Team.

Harris was Orange’s leading scorer at 13.7 points per game in 2021-2022. Coming into the season, Harris’ career-high was 22 points set against Vance County in the 2019-2020. This year, she surpassed that mark three times. Harris scored 24 points in a win over Cedar Ridge on February 9 at Orange High. She also registered 23 points in a 73-47 win over Western Alamance on February 5 in Elon. In the opening game of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Showcase, Harris had 22 points in a 71-45 victory for the Lady Panthers over Reidsville.

In 24 games, Harris scored in double-figures 16 times in her senior season. She finished with at least ten points in every December game, starting with 17 points in a win over the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham on December 2. Against Person on January 27, she scored a career-high 23 points as Orange won 74-61 in Hillsborough.

In March, Harris signed with Randolph-Macon College in Virginia during a ceremony at Orange High Gymnasium.

George averaged a career-best eleven points per game in her senior season. After scoring twice in double figures in her first three seasons, George had 16 games with at least ten points as a senior. She also had three double-doubles, including one in her final game when she racked up eleven points and eleven rebounds against 71st in the state playoffs.

George put up 19 points against NCSSM, which was her career-high at that point. A week later, George reestablished her career-best with 23 points against Carrboro in a 68-36 win in Hillsborough. George had a string of nine consecutive games in double-figures starting on December 14, when she scored 12 points in a 54-46 win over Western Alamance in Hillsborough. She had 14 points against Person on January 27.

George’s scoring presence was needed more than ever after starting center Erin Jordan-Cornell missed three-quarters of the campaign with a knee injury, taking away the Lady Panthers’ most valuable low-post presence. Orange still finished 15-9 overall, 6-6 in the Central Carolina Conference, which included 3A State Champion Northwood.

George will attend Duke University starting in August.

Orange senior guard Aaliyah Harris officially signed with Randolph-Macon College on Friday afternoon at Orange High Gymnasium. There was no better location for the ceremony to be held than on the very floor where Aaliyah has shot, dribbled, fallen, dove on and spilled her sweat since she was a freshman playing varsity. This season, Harris was the leading scorer on an Orange team that finished with a 15-9 record. She was the leading scorer on the team with 13.7 points per game. Harris established her career high with 24 points against Cedar Ridge on February 9. This season, Harris had over 20 points in a game five times. On February 5, she scored 23 points in a 73-47 win over Western Alamance in Mebane. He also scored 23 against Person on January 27 in Hillsborough. Harris was joined in the ceremony by her mother Christy and her sister Alicia, who was a member of the first team that current Orange coach B.J. Condron coached in Hillsborough. Aaliyah has been interviewed more than any player we’ve ever covered at Hillsbroughsports.com and we’ll miss her gregarious personality and wonderful spirit. 

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior basketball guard Samantha George. Last wee in the 3A State Playoffs, George had a double-double with eleven points and 12 rebounds against Fayetteville 71st. The Lady Panthers roared out to a 37-17 lead against the Falcons, but 71st came back to win 66-53. It was the third double-double this season for George. On December 2, George had 19 points and 15 rebounds against the North Carolina School of Science and Math on December 2 in Durham. On February 1, George had ten points and eleven rebounds in a 51-39 win over Person in Roxboro. This season, George had her career-high with 23 points in a 68-36 victory over Carrboro in Hillsborough. George became the full-time starting shooting guard for Orange in her junior season. This year, her younger sister Evelyn, a freshman, starting playing on the varsity. After she graduates from Orange in June, George will attend Duke University. Samantha was a big reason why the Orange women’s basketball team not only finished 15-9 this season in a highly competitive Central Carolina Conference, but the team had a 3. 92 grade point average. Last week, George and Aaliyah Harris were selected to play in the Clash of the Codes All-Star Game, which will be held in Greenville later this month. Harris and George will be on Team Faison and coached by Knightdale’s Martin Faison.