Orange Women’s Basketball

GIBSONVILLE–If they’re fortunate enough, a basketball coach only gets a chance to celebrate their 100th victory once.

After playing the nightcap of a six-game day on Tuesday at Eastern Guilford High School, B.J. Condron’s Orange women’s basketball team tipped off a 11 o’clock the following morning against Northeast Guilford. By the time the Lady Panthers disposed of the Rams 52-27, it was barely past noon. So Condron made it a total basketball day.

More to the point, he spent it doing what he’s commonly done at Orange, aside from organizing practices, preparing his P.E. courses, checking in on East Carolina football and basketball news while listening to various Primus, Metallica and Meshuggah songs.

He went to support the people nearest to him.

His wife, Carla, his son Jalen and daughter Ellie watched on from behind the Orange bench as the Lady Panther players yelled loudly after the public address announcer at Eastern Guilford acknowledged Condron’s 100th win. Ellie, who returned to playing basketball earlier this month after the pandemic forced her off the court for nearly two years, noted afterwards that she was only about seven years from playing for her father at Orange–provided he makes it that long.

After leaving Gibsonville, Condron made a 50-minute drive to South Granville High School in Creedmoor, where the Orange men’s basketball team fought hard but dropped a 69-64 game to Cary in the semifinals of the Navy Bracket of the South Granville Holiday Invitational. He was just getting started. Condron then journeyed into Durham County to McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium at North Carolina Central University. That’s where Southern Durham, led by longtime Orange coach and friend Greg Motley, faced Hopewell in the third place game of the Champions Durham Classic.

In a postgame interview, Condron eschewed the amount of wins he’s built over the years.

“Hopefully, I’ve built 100 positive relationships over the years,” Condron said. “I’ve been there awhile so I felt like this was coming. If you do it long enough, it’s not really about the wins or the losses. You learn over time that it’s about the relationships you build with people.”

If that’s what Condron has aimed to build, there’s been ample evidence recently that he’s been successful.

On December 2, during a road game against North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham, former Orange players Lauren Cates, Kate Burgess and Jala Rainey (who graduated in June) were at courtside. Burgess and Cates were members of Condron’s most successful team, the 2016-17 squad that started the season with a 21-game winning streak, including victories over Chapel Hill, Northwood and Cardinal Gibbons. They won the Big 8 regular season and tournament championships.

The starting center for that team was Mia Davidson, who was also in attendance for the Northeast Guilford game on Wednesday. At first glance, Davidson appeared to be the ultimate undersized center, standing at 5-foot-7 and often giving up 5-to-6 inches to the opposition’s tallest player. Before she became the all-time home run hitter in Mississippi State softball history, Davidson would regularly knock defensive rebounds away from opposing players and create instant offense. Davidson, Kaylen Campbell, Beth Early, Adalyn Fleming, and Jazlyn Watson were all members of Condron’s first Orange team, which finished 2-24.

“When I think about that team, it was just awesome the way it came together,” Condron said. “From that four-year span where we won two games in my first year coaching. Then we progressed and they stuck with it. They bought in with what we were doing and it paid off for them in the end.”

To quote another Condron musical favorite, Tom Petty, they were learning to fly. Three years later, Davidson, Campbell, Early, Fleming, Cates, Watson and an Eastern Alamance transfer named Icez Barnett would comprise the nucleus of a team that won the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Tournament, reached the Sweet 16 of the 3A State Tournament and finished 26-2. Cates would go on to score over 1,000 points in her career.

“It means a lot to me when they show up to games and come to say hello,” Condron said.

A senior on Condron’s first team, Alicia Harris, is still at every Orange game. After serving as an assistant in recent years, she now operates the scorebook for the men’s and women’s teams. Her younger sister, Aaliyah, currently is Orange’s leading scorer and just committed to play college basketball at Randolph-Macon in Ashland, VA.

Condron is just as much a student of Orange women’s basketball history as he is the coach. In the postgame on Wednesday, he asked about names from the 1990s likes Dave Murr and Charles Watters. Murr, who started as a head coach at Orange in 1991, coached Constance Poteat, who would go on to play for Kay Yow at N.C. State. Poteat led Orange to the 1993 PAC-6 Tournament Championship, roaring back from an 18-point deficit with 3:43 remaining to beat Northern Durham at Poe Gymtorium in the championship game. Condron was in middle school when Murr took over the program.

Now, the milestone is behind Condron and 2022 is ahead. Even with his team having won seven-of-its-last eight games, there are plenty of issues to fix. Orange will face crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Tuesday before taking on Person. It will be the first conference game between the Lady Panthers and the Rockets in over 20 years.

As Condron went to bed on Wednesday night, he posted on Facebook “One word to describe today…blessed!”

There’s no doubt many who know Condron feel the same way about him.

There was a loud roar among the Orange women’s basketball players as the clock wound down in its 52-27 win over Northeast Guilford on Wednesday. They gathered around head coach B.J. Condron, who earned his 100th career win. Condron, an East Carolina graduate, has taken Orange to the state playoffs four times and won the 2017 Big 8 Conference regular season and tournament championship with a 26-2 record. More valuable than the wins has been the relationships Condron has developed with his player over the years. That was evident throughout this past week during the Eastern Guilford Basketball Showcase. On Wednesday, former Orange center Mia Davidson was on hand. Davidson, a starter on Orange’s 2017 state title team, is the all-time leading home run hitter in Mississippi State softball history. On Monday, former guard Grace Andrews was in attendance as Orange defeated Reidsville. Condron will start pursuit for another win on Tuesday when Orange, which is won seven of its last eight games, hosts Cedar Ridge inside Panther Gymnasium. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 6.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior basketball guard Aaliyah Harris. On December 7, Harris scored a season-high 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out seven assists as the Lady Panthers defeated Carrboro 68-36. That continued a string of eight straight games with double figure points, a streak that is still active. Against Riverside on December 10, Harris scored 13 points in a 62-16 victory over Riverside. Last week, Harris announced her commitment to play college basketball at Randolph-Macon College. So far this week, Harris has been impressive as Orange has won both of its games in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Showcase. On Monday afternoon, Harris scored 17 points as the Lady Panthers defeated Reidsville 74-50. On Tuesday night, Harris led all scorers with 22 points as the Lady Panthers defeated Eastern Guilford 71-45. Harris been a regular rotation player for Orange since her freshman year. This morning (Wednesday), Orange will face Northeast Guilford to conclude the Eastern Guilford Holiday Showcase. Orange coach B.J. Condron will go for his 100th career victory.

GIBSONVILLE–Playing the first game after Christmas in a holiday invitational can be a challenge.

Even the most seasoned squads can sometimes experience a holiday hangover after all the Christmas shopping, family get-togethers, days off and countless meals have faded over time and it comes time to play some basketball.

For Orange, that wasn’t the case in the opening round of the Eastern Guilford Basketball Showcase in Gibsonville on Monday. The Lady Panthers faced Reidsville in the first of six games on the Monday slate. While things grew tight in the second half, there was no holiday hangover to be found for Orange.

Instead, they greeted the early wakeup call with open arms. The players got up early for a shoot around in the auxiliary gymnasium at Eastern Guilford High School. This came a week after a pre-Christmas workout at the Cedar Grove Ruritan Club in order to keep their legs fresh.

“To be honest with you, I kinda liked it,” Orange women’s coach B.J. Condron said of playing the 11AM game. “We worked out for about an hour to get the rust off. The facilities here are so nice here, it was good to get here early. When you play the first game, there’s definitely a concern. We were kind of the first team to wake up.”

Senior guard Aaliyah Harris, who committed to Randolph-Macon College last week, scored 22 points as Orange (7-3) defeated Reidsville 71-45.

Orange led 42-26 with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter, but the Rams’ Kieva Perkins sparked a 14-2 run with a banked-in 3-pointer. Reidville’s Gracious Wise completed a 3-point play to cut Orange’s lead to 44-40 with 57 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Rams had a chance to cut Orange’s lead down to a single-basket, but were called for a 3-second violation. Subsequently, Jada Reed found Orange’s Samantha George on a diagonal pass, which led to a foul. George sank both free throws, followed by a steal and lay-in by Harris. From that point forward, the Lady Panthers finished the game on a 25-5 run.

Kieva Perkins led the Rams (2-2) with 21 points. Wise added 12 points, but the Rams scored only five points in the fourth quarter.

Perkins sank a running one-hander to cut Orange’s lead to 50-42, but the Rams didn’t score a field goal in the final 5:58. Orange freshman Evelyn George, who finished with ten points, sank a key 15-foot jumper on the next possession that jump started a run and put the game away. It was the fourth time this year that George has finished in double figures.

“Evelyn is putting herself in a position to get more time,” Condron said. “She’s one of our hardest workers and she’s shown that in practice time-and-time again and it’s really starting to pay off.”

The game also marked the return of All-Conference center Erin Jordan-Cornell, who last played against East Chapel Hill on November 30. Jordan-Cornell suffered a leg injury against the Wildcats, which caused her to miss seven games.

Against Reidsville, Jordan-Cornell started but found herself in foul trouble all day. She was limited to seven points and four rebounds.

“I think she did a good job,” Condron said. “Just getting her back in the grove of things, it was good to get her back out there.”

After the two teams finished the first quarter tied 16-16, the Lady Panthers held Reidsville to two field goals in the second quarter. Harris scored eight of her 22 points in the second frame, including two breakaway layups that pushed Orange’s lead briefly into double-digits.

This year, the Eastern Guilford Basketball Showcase isn’t a tournament, but simply three games between nonconfernece opponents across three days. The Lady Panthers, who finished 2nd in the Granville Central Holiday Tournament in 2019, will face Eastern Guilford on Tuesday night at 7:30. Orange will wrap up the event against Northeast Guilford on Wednesday morning at 11AM.

ORANGE 71, REIDSVILLE 45

ORANGE–Samantha George 13, Aaliyah Harris 22, Jada Reed 4, Jarmil Wingate 12, Erin Jordan-Cornell 7, Samantha George 10, Aisha Caron 3.

REIDSVILLE–Heaven Perkins 4, Kieva Perkins 21, Gracious Wise 12, Len Miller 2, Mariah Wilson 4, Morgan Hooper 2.

Playing in a holiday tournament for the first time since 2019, the Orange women’s basketball team pulled away from Reidsville 71-45 in the opening game of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational in Gibsonville on Monday afternoon. The George sisters played a big role in Orange outscoring the Lady Rams 23-5 in the final quarter. Senior Samantha George scored 13 points, including seven in the second quarter. Samantha’s younger sister, Evelyn George, had a key bucket late in the third quarter after Reidsville reduced the Lady Panthers’ 15-point lead down to four. Evelyn scored ten points, her fourth game in double-figures this season. When they aren’t teammates in Orange uniforms, Samantha and Evelyn often face each other in 1-on-1 games in their backyards. Orange has won five of its last six games and is 7-3 on the season. This year, the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational is comprised of seven teams, so it isn’t a tournament. Orange will face Eastern Guilford on Tuesday night at 7 PM, then wrap up the tournament against Northeast Guilford on Wednesday morning at 11.

It was another strong night for the Wonder Twins as the Orange women’s basketball team won its first Central Carolina Conference game of the season. On Tuesday night, Orange defeated Western Alamance 54-46 at Panther Gymnasium for its third straight win. Senior Jarmil Wingate finished with eight points, seven rebounds, four steals, three steals and two blocks. The Lady Panthers have been shorthanded almost the entire season with injuries to its top two centers. Wingate has stepped in to fill the void and it has led the Lady Panthers to a solid start as they hope to return to the 3A State Playoffs this season. Wingate’s teammate and classmate, Aaliyah Harris, led Orange with 14 points. Wingate and Harris have played alongside each other since they were in sixth grade at Orange Middle School (then Stanford Middle School). Harris and Wingate, dubbed the Wonder Twins by this website, and the rest of the Lady Panthers will continue its season tonight against East Chapel Hill. They will host Walter Williams on Friday night before Christmas, then will start the Eastern Guilford Holiday Hoops Classic on December 27. That will be a three-day event.