Orange Women’s Basketball

Orange senior Samantha George is playing the best basketball of her career as her time with the Lady Panthers winds down. George has been the Lady Panthers’ leading scorer in each of its last two games, including Saturday when Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 51-16. George hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Orange as Orange started the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back. On Friday in an overtime loss to Eastern Alamance, George led Orange with 16 points. Samantha is a two-sport athlete at Orange. The Lady Panthers ended the regular season 14-7, 6-6 in the Central Carolina Conference. On Monday, the Lady Panthers will host Western Alamance in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament inside Panther Gymnasium at 6PM. The winner of the game will travel to Central Carolina Conference regular season champion Northwood for the semifinals on Wednesday in Pittsboro.

The Orange women’s basketball team enjoyed a solid victory on Senior Night over crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night at Panther Gymnasium. Orange center Haley Reynolds made it a big night. Reynolds made her first start and scored a career-high seven points. Reynolds has played at the varsity level for the past two years. She’s played basketball since she was in the 7th grade, but in the fall, Reynolds has been a cheerleader for the football team. Aisha Caron also made her first career start. She scored two points against the Red Wolves. Caron joined the varsity team in December and has played forward in ten games this season. Orange has guaranteed itself a winning season. The Lady Panthers are 13-6, 4-5 in the Central Carolina Conference. Orange will host Eastern Alamance for its final regular season home game on Friday, then travel to Cedar Ridge on Saturday morning at 11:30 to finish the regular season. Orange will also host a first round game in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament next week.

It wasn’t easy, but the Orange women’s basketball team defeated Person 51-39 inside Rocket Gymnasium in Roxboro on Tuesday night. It was another big night for the Wonder Twins, Aaliyah Harris and Jarmil Wingate. For the first time this year, Wingate led Orange in scoring with 13 points. Wingate also added nine rebounds, narrowly missing her first double-double of the season. Harris had nine points and nine assists as Orange completed a season-sweep of the Rockets. Harris and Wingate have been teammates since they were in middle school. They were on the varsity together as freshmen, when Orange won 19 games in 2018-2019. They haven’t been in a state playoff game in two years. Currently, the Orange women are ranked #11 in the 3A East Region, which helps its chances of hosting a game in the state playoffs later this month. On Friday night, Orange will host Northwood, then will travel to Western Alamance on Saturday afternoon. Senior night for Orange against Cedar Ridge will be held on February 9 at Orange High Gymnasium.

The combination of COVID-19 shutdowns, winter weather and exams have led to an unusually quiet January for local high school basketball teams.

After winning three games over three days in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Showcase on December 26-28, the Orange women’s basketball team was supposed to return to action on January 4.

Due to various COVID problems and two consecutive weekends of snow, the Lady Panthers didn’t play a game for 29 days. They finally returned to the floor on January 25, when they traveled to Burlington to face Walter Williams.

“We’ve had so many days off,” said Orange women’s basketball coach B.J. Condron. “We’ve had three practices in three weeks. That’s where having a veteran team that has a little more basketball IQ comes into play. Because this team has experience.”

The wait was even longer for Cedar Ridge women’s team. After the Red Wolves traveled to Northwood on December 17, the women’s team didn’t play again for 39 days–where they faced Northwood again on Tuesday in Hillsborough.

All of the distractions have led the Orange-Cedar Ridge doubleheaders between the men’s and women’s teams to be delayed three times. The crosstown rivals were supposed to play again on Friday night, but one inch of snow forced the doubleheaders to be postponed again.

This week, Orange and Cedar Ridge will go from barely at all to playing many games in a short amount of time.

Orange will have four doubleheaders in a span of five days. Starting Tuesday, Orange will travel to Person. The following night, they host Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough. On Friday, the Panthers host Northwood, then will travel to Western Alamance the following day.

Cedar Ridge’s conference slate is so full, they had to cancel a scheduled nonconfernece home game with Northern Durham that was originally slated for Monday. Instead, the Red Wolves will travel to Eastern Alamance on Tuesday, travel to Person on Wednesday, then host Western Alamance on Friday.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will finally meet on the final week of the regular season. The Red Wolves will travel to Orange on Wednesday, February 9. Orange will make a return trip to Cedar Ridge on Saturday, February 12, with the women’s game slated for 11:30AM and the men’s game scheduled for 1 PM.

The Central Carolina men’s and women’s tournaments are still scheduled for February 14-18.

Of the four Hillsborough teams in the Central Carolina Conference, the Orange women’s team appears to be the only one set to make the 3A State Playoffs. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s RPI rankings currently have the Lady Panthers ranked #10 in the 3A East Region.

Anyone who paid attention to volleyball’s RPI ratings last fall understand the depth of Central Carolina Conference women’s sports. While the makeup of the teams may be different, the depth is very much the same. Of the nine teams ahead of Orange in the current RPI rankings, there are two teams from the All-American Conference (Terry Sanford #1, E.E. Smith #4); one team from the Quad County Conference (Southern Wayne #3), two teams from the Big East (Rocky Mount #5, South Central #8), one team from the Northeastern Coastal (First Flight #9)…and three teams from the Central Carolina (Northwood #2, Williams #6, Eastern Alamance #7).

“It definitely helps when you have teams like Northwood and Williams and Eastern Alamance,” Condron said. “It really helps to have them on our schedule because they’re juggernauts right now.”

Despite the long layoff, the Orange women showed they’re ready to compete against the CCC’s best upon its return to action. On Tuesday, Williams held on to beat Orange 44-41 in Burlington. The game was tied in the final minute before the Bulldogs’ forced three turnovers in the final minute, which led to the game-winning points.

On Friday, Orange played its first home game since December 17 and defeated Person 74-61. The Lady Panthers rushed out to a 12-0 lead and never trailed, even though the Rockets cut the deficit down to one point midway through the second quarter. Orange senior Aaliyah Harris led the Lady Panthers with 23 points.

Even more promising was junior center Erin Jordan-Cornell, who missed nearly a month of action of a lower leg injury in November. Jordan-Cornell had consecutive double-doubles against Williams and Person. Against the Bulldogs, she amassed 12 points and ten rebounds. On Friday against Person, she had 18 points, ten rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.

“The post-to-post passes that Erin makes and when she catches it and faces up to the basket, it definitely helps us,” Condron said. “She’s a scoring threat and opposing teams have to respect that and collapse on her when she has the ball.”

For the first time since December 17, the Orange women’s basketball team played on its home floor on Thursday night. The Lady Panthers roared out to a 12-0 lead and defeated Person 74-61 in the first conference game between the two teams in 21 years. In just her 7th game of the season, center Erin Jordan-Cornell came away with a season-high 19 points. Jordan-Cornell has dealt with injuries throughout her junior year that kept her out of seven games during December. Now, Orange has its entire paint presence back with two weeks remaining in the regular season with Jordan-Cornell and Katelyn Van Mater back in the lineup. On the final play of the game, Jordan-Cornell threw to Katie Perkins, who scored the first basket of her varsity career on a layup. Perkins is one of six Orange seniors who will be honored next week, along with Aaliyah Harris, Jarmil Wingate, Samantha George, Haley Reynolds and Aisha Caron. Orange will wrap up the week on Friday, facing Cedar Ridge at 4:30 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. It will be Orange’s third game in four days.

After the Orange women’s basketball team finished undefeated in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Basketball Showcase, two seniors and a freshman were selected as outstanding performers in the event.

Point guard Aaliyah Harris, forward Jarmil Wingate and freshman guard Evelyn George were honored for their performances. The trio was selected by participating coaches in the event, which included six teams. Orange and their Central Carolina Conference rival Walter Williams were the only teams to emerge from the three-day event undefeated in Gibsonville.

Harris averaged 18.6 points over the three-day event. George came off the bench to finish in double figures in all three games, averaging 11.3 points per game.

The only day where Orange received a serious challenge came against Reidsville on December 27, where the Lady Panthers pulled away 71-45. Harris led all scorers with 22 points against the Rams. In the second half, the Lady Panthers built a 42-26 lead with 4:50 remaining, only to have the Rams roar back to make it a 44-40 game following a 3-pointer by Gracious Walker. Orange calmly finished the game on a 27-5 run, which included eight points from Harris in the fourth quarter.

Wingate had a season-high six assists. She also added seven rebounds and three steals.

George came off the bench and added three key field goals for the Lady Panthers. Her older sister, senior Samantha George, added 13 points.

The following night, Orange played the last of six games on the day with a 67-30 victory over Eastern Guilford. It was another strong game for Harris, who scored 20 points to lead all scorers. Wingate, who is listed at 5’4″, has been pressed into duties as a center at times this season because of injuries to juniors Erin Jordan-Cornell and Katelyn Van Mater. Against Eastern Guilford, Wingate tied her season high with eleven rebounds. She also had seven points, four steals and three assists.

Evelyn George, who basically became a sixth lady for Orange in the final games of 2021, had another strong fourth quarter against Eastern Guilford. George scored eleven points, all in the second half. Samantha George added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Eastern Guilford was led by Taylor Branch, who scored 12 points. Branch fouled out in the fourth quarter and the Wildcats’ offense had no other answers. They scored only five points in the fourth quarter.

The following morning Orange defeated Northeast Guilford 52-27 to complete three wins in three days. It was also Orange coach B.J. Condron’s 100th career win.

Orange put three players in double figures. Harris and Evelyn George each had 13 points to lead all scorers. It was the first time in George’s career that she led Orange in scoring.

Wingate played a vital role on defense in limiting Northeast Guilford to just four field goals in the first half as Orange took a 34-12 lead to the locker room at halftime. Wingate added four points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Samantha George scored ten points against Northeast Guilford. George has scored in double figures in six straight games and nine out of 12 this season for the Lady Panthers.

This was the first time that Orange played at Eastern Guilford for its holiday tournament. In recent years, the Lady Panthers have played in the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Tournament or the Granville Central Holiday Invitational, where they finished 2nd in 2018-2019.

Orange is currently 9-3, 1-2 in the Central Carolina Conference. They’re set to resume its season against Cedar Ridge next Thursday inside Orange Gymnasium.

To show how deep the Central Carolina Conference is, Orange is currently #19 among 3A East teams in the MaxPreps rankings. Three CCC teams are ranked ahead of the Lady Panthers. Northwood, who defeated Orange in Pittsboro on December 4, is #3. Williams, who knocked off Orange 74-50 in Hillsborough on December 17, is #8. Eastern Alamance is #12.

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.