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There was no better time for Janea Myers to become a hero.

Coming off a 60-22 loss to Northern Guilford the night before, Orange had struggled to get the lead in a foul-plagued game against Union Pines on Wednesday at Jim King Gymnasium.

The Lady Vikings  led 36-29 with 7:25 remaining after a jumper by Hadrya Balser, who finished with a game-high 19 points. Union Pines never conceded the lead against the Panthers in the second half—until the last second.

The Vikings led 41-40 when Emily Bowbless went to the line for two free throws. After she missed both of them, Orange had a glimmer of hope which quickly dissipated when Balser grabbed the offensive rebound.

That’s when Balser made her only mistake of the night. Instead of holding the ball and waiting to get fouled, Balser immediately jacked up a short jumper which missed. With :06 remaining, Orange’s Icez Barnett got the rebound and took off up the court with Myers trailing. Only Bowbless was back for the Lady Vikings.

Barnett wasn’t sure if she should take the ball to the basket herself or pass it over to Myers. Barnett had four fouls. Did she have enough time to score? Would Myers have time if she got the pass?

“She was nervous. I was nervous,” said Barnett.

Barnett found the opening she needed to pass it to Myers, who had the angle to lay it in with :01 remaining.

Even with that second left, Myers and Barnett didn’t bother to get back on defense. They were too busy celebrating.

Orange won 41-40. Myers layup gave Orange its first lead since the middle of the second quarter. She finished with 13 to lead the Panthers.

“After the game we had last night, it was good that we had some fight to finish the game out,” said Orange Girls Coach B.J. Condron. “This team was faced with adversity and I want to see us fight through adversity. And they did that.”

Barnett was the only other Panther in double figures with ten. Lauren Cates, who had 17 in Orange’s season-opening win over North Carolina School of Science and Math, was held to five.

Condron is faced with replacing seven seniors from a squad that won the Big 8 regular season and tournament championships last season. In 2016-17, the Lady Panthers got off to the best start in school history by winning its first 21 games. They finished 26-2 after losing to Rockingham County in the third round of the 3A state playoffs.

Maers, Cates, Barnett and Grace Dively were rotation players last season now pressed into mentor roles this season.

“We’ve got some returning players and they insert themselves in helping the younger players,” said Condron. “I’m hoping that the younger players gain some experience looking at players like Janea and Icez so we can become a decent team.”

Coming off making the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs last season, the Cedar Ridge girls basketball team has been expectations for the 2017-18 season. The Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts 51-42 on Tuesday night to open the season. Yolanda Simpson scored eleven points for the Red Wolves, who return to action on Friday night to host Jordan-Matthews.

Cedar Ridge Forward Yolanda Simpson Discusses Opening Night Win vs. DSA

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Last time Orange faced Southern Durham on the soccer pitch, it took an overtime goal from Luke Wirzba to claim a vital win.

It wasn’t nearly as suspenseful on Wednesday night at Spartans Stadium.

Jamar Davis added to his stellar senior season with a goal, while Malcolm Phillips and Caleb Krogstad added insurance tallies as the Panthers defeated the Spartans 3-0.

Goalkeeper Noah Miller earned the shutout, his ninth of the season. Orange is now 13-5-2, the most victories in a season since 2010, at least. The Panthers are now in 3rd place in the Big 8 with a 10-3 record. The victory ended a two-game losing streak, including a 2-0 loss at Chapel Hill on Monday night which all but clinched the Big 8 Championship for the Tigers.

Davis also assisted on Phillips goal. Phillips and Ewan McCallum also recorded assists.

The Panthers piled up 15 shots against the Spartans, including Luke Wirzba totaling four.

Orange has one more game remaining in the regular season. They will host Northern Durham on senior night Monday at Panther Soccer Field. Seniors Davis, Krogstad, Omar Landeros, McCallum, Wirzba, Bryan Torres, Thomas Spikes, Phillips, Miller, Isaiah Dupre and Jesus Chavez will alll be honored before the game against the Knights, who Orange defeated 5-2 last month at Jack Armstrong Soccer Stadium.

In its first Big 8 meet of the season, the Cedar Ridge boys and girls cross country teams each captured their respective races.

Running against a partial team from East Chapel Hill and a full team from Hillside on Tuesday afternoon at Cedar Ridge, the Red Wolves’ boys finished first with 15 points. The Wildcats came in 2nd with 55 while Hillside recorded 76 points.

The Cedar Ridge girls team finished with 6 points while Hillside had 44. East didn’t field a girls team for Tuesday’s meet.

In the boys race, Cedar Ridge had the top seven finishers. Senior Brian Finch continued his strong season, finishing the 5,000 meter course in 19:22. Alistar Stewart came in 2nd at 19:44. Junior Rory Legg-Bell cross the finish line 3rd at 20:09. Junior Eli Tilley was 4th with a time of 20:49. Zach Crane was 5th, ending his run at 21:02. Senior Joshua Goularte was sixth at 21:14, and Evan Paisley came in 7th at 21:28. Cedar Ridge sophomore Noah Draughon rounded out the top ten with a 10th place finish with a time of 21:32. Freshman Zach Gary’s was 11th.

Competing against only Hillside in the girls race, Cedar Ridge had its first four runners cross the finish line, as well as eight of the top ten. Three of them were freshman, including Anne Morrell, who set the pace with a time of 24:47. Cedar Ridge junior Abby Averette finished second at 25:07. Freshman Ariana Solis came in third at 26:20. Senior Noa Berman was 4th with a time of 26:26.

Red Wolf freshman Jill Myles finished sixth, completing the course at 26:50. Sophomore Sydney Reavely was 8th at 27:28. Finishing tenth was senior Alexandria Wirth at 27:58.

Another freshman, April Hunt, came in 11th at 28:03.

The Orange Panthers nearly broke the stranglehold that teams from southern Orange County have had at the top of the Big 8 standings on Tuesday night, but not quite.

East Chapel Hill held off Orange 3-2 at Wildcat Gymnasium on scores of 25-8, 17-25, 25-14, 19-25 and 16-14.

Senior Bailey Lucas had a strong all-around performance for the Panthers, finishing with twelve kills, 16 assists and eleven digs. Sophomore Emma Clements had four aces, 14 kills and 21 digs. Emma Clements had two aces, two kills, one block, 26 assists and eleven digs.  Libero Faith Foushee also had 21 digs.

With the win, Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill maintain the top two spots in the Big 8. The Tigers are 7-0 in conference play while the Wildcats are now 7-1, 11-6 overall.

Orange falls to 8-6, and is now in fifth place in the Big 8 with a 3-5 record.

There are some sports where the additions of Northern Durham, East Chapel Hill and Hillside in the Big 8 Conference that are affected more than others. East Chapel Hill’s biggest influence will be felt in girls tennis.

The Wildcats have captured nine girls state championships under former coach Lindsay Linker. Now back at the 3-A level, it’s clearer than ever before than this year’s Big 8 Championship will be decided by the two Chapel Hill schools.

The Wildcats defeated defending Big 8 Champion Cedar Ridge 6-0 on Wednesday.

Savannah Bright, Stella Joksimovic, Isabel Green, Ingrid Mast, Ellie Kim and Sarah McClanahan all won singles matches for the Wildcats. The doubles matches weren’t contested because of rain.

Cedar Ridge falls to 4-3, 2-2 in the Big 8. The loss to the Wildcats ends the Red Wolves’ two-match winning streak. CRHS defeated Orange and Northern Durham last week.

Former Orange High and Chapel Hill coach Nicky Walker is now coaching the Wildcats. East improves to 7-2, 4-0 in the Big 8.

Cedar Ridge will try to rebound on Wednesday against Hillside in Hillsborough.

After winning six of its first seven matches, this week was one to forget for the Orange volleyball team.

Following conference losses to Northwood and Chapel Hill, the Panthers were swept by Roxboro Community School 3-0 on Friday night, and only the final set was close. The Bulldogs claimed its seventh straight win on scores of 25-9, 25-14 and 25-23.

Emma Clements finished with two aces, five kills, two blocks and seven digs. Libby Jones had five kills, two blocks and one dig. Faith Foushee had nine digs for the Panthers. Bailey Lucas finished with ten assists.

Orange hosts Jordan on Monday in Hillsborough, then travels to Southern Durham on Tuesday.

The Orange and Cedar Ridge volleyball teams became the first squads to play against the new Big 8 Conference on Thursday night, and the evening didn’t go as they wanted.

Orange lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to East Chapel Hill in Hillsborough on scores of 26-24, 23-25, 16-25, 25-16 and 15-9. It was the first loss of the season for the Panthers, who were playing its third match in four days.

Senior Avery Riley finished with 13 kills, two blocks and two digs for the Panthers (3-1, 0-1 in the Big 8), Sophomore Emma Clements registered two aces, eleven kills and 25 digs. Senior co-captain Caroline Compton had three aces, two kills, 22 assists and 13 digs. Co-captain Bailey Lucas came up with four aces, four kills, one block, 17 assists and seven digs.

Meanwhile in Pittsboro, Northwood remained undefeated by beating Cedar RIdge 3-1 on scores of 25-15, 25-22, 24-26 and 25-20. The Red Wolves fall to 3-2, 0-1 in the Big 8, while Northwood is 5-0 after its initial conference game.

On Monday, Cedar Ridge has another three-game week. It starts Monday with a road trip to Jordan, followed by a home game against Chapel Hill the following day. The Red Wolves finish the week at archrival Orange on Thursday night.

Orange travels to Eastern Alamance on Monday, then plays its second conference game at Hillside on Tuesday.

Going on the road after a tough 2016 season, Cedar Ridge found a way to grind out a 5-set thriller in the Bull City to start the new year.

The Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-2 on Monday night at Sykes Gymnasium.

Junior Sarah McCuiston finished with ten kills, three aces and two blocks. Macy Henry, who was limited last season because of injuries, made a solid return, registering 36 assists, six digs and a block. Alexa Pagnanelli had 15 digs. Tionna Carter, the shortstop for the Cedar Ridge softball team, finished with seven kills and three digs in her varsity debut Junior Juliann De Jesus ended up with ten kills.

Cedar Ridge will take a 1-0 record into its home opener on Wednesday against Eastern Alamance. The varsity match starts at 6 PM.