After trips to Graham, Chapel Hill, Durham and Pittsboro, the Orange women’s basketball team finally got to play a home game on Tuesday night. The Lady Panthers defeated Carrboro 68-36. Orange put three players in double-figures, including junior Nikayla Whitted, who scored a career-high 12 points. Senior Samantha George, for the second time in two weeks, set her own career-high with 23 points off 10-of-13 shooting from the field. Point guard Aaliyah Harris added 18 point as Orange improved to 3-2. In addition to her 12 points, Whitted added six steals. Going into a difficult Central Carolina Conference, Orange will look to continue momentum when they face Riverside in Hillsborough on Friday night. The victory over the Jaguars started a five-game homestand for the Lady Panthers. After Riverside, Orange will host Western Alamance, East Chapel Hill and Walter Williams next week.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wrestler and linebacker Brendon Worsham. In the opening week of the season, Worsham won his first three matches for the Orange wrestling team. Competing at 182 pounds, Worsham defeated Northwest Guilford’s Alex Brasheer 7-2. In Orange’s Central Carolina Conference opener, Worsham pinned Western Alamance’s Dylan Teague in 1:08 as the Panthers won the dual match 66-18. Last season, Worsham qualified for the 3A State Championships at 182 pounds. He wrestled for the Mideast Regional championship when he pinned Northwood’s Cliff Davis in 3:30. Last season, Worsham finished 16-4. The past two years, Worsham played football under head coach Van Smith. This season, Worsham started at linebacker and as an offensive lineman. He made 55 tackles. Last Saturday in the Jim King/Orange Invitational, Worsham finished 4th at 182 pounds and scored pins over Person’s Aiden Walker, as well as Northwood’s Cliff Davis. Worsham is looking to help Orange win another conference championship in wrestling. The Panthers are 3-0 in the CCC and will face off against Cedar Ridge, Jordan Matthews and Providence Grove in a quad match on Wednesday night.

DURHAM–It had been 724 days since Cedar Ridge women’s basketball’s last win. Anyone who followed the team knew that once they finally ended its losing streak, it would be a rich moment.

Once it arrived on Monday night, no one knew how dramatic or poetic it would be.

Senior guard Phoenix Smith knocked down a 3-foot baseline jumper off a feed from Julie Altieri with three seconds remaining to propel the Red Wolves past Northern Durham 45-44 at Poe Gymtorium on Monday night to end a 26-game losing streak. It was Cedar Ridge’s first win under new head coach Megan Skouby, a former University of Iowa center who joined the school last summer after serving as a coach at South Iredell.

Cedar Ridge’s last win came on December 12, 2019, when they defeated South Granville 44-29 in Hillsborough.

The Red Wolves, who led by ten points at the half, lost its lead in the final minute. Northern Durham (1-3) could have run out the clock to send the Red Wolves back to Hillsborough with another close loss, but the Knights were called for a 3-second violation with ten seconds remaining.

“All I told them was ‘you’ve got ten seconds. Push it and they’re either going to foul you or you’re going to get someone up the court,'” Skouby said. “They did great. Luckily, Julie was able to see the floor and she got up to Phoenix. Phoenix caught the ball, which was number one, and got that shot up. It went in.”

Last Tuesday, Cedar Ridge had a six-point lead against Voyager Academy with 1:05 remaining, but lost 36-35 in overtime. Three days later, the Red Wolves led East Chapel Hill 32-26 with 4:00 left, but the Wildcats scored the game’s final 13 points to win 39-32.

As painful as those near-misses were, it may have been worth it if Smith could be the hero once the elusive win finally came. Last season, the Red Wolves played several games with only five players when injuries and the pandemic left them without any substitutes. Knowing she would have to play all 32 minutes before the opening tip, Smith was out there as the team’s point guard ready to face insurmountable odds, along with Cierra Copeland, Cameron Copeland, Anjelica Carbajal and Bryn Booker.

Smith, a three-sport athlete, was one of three seniors on the Cedar Ridge volleyball team that just won the 3A State Championship.

“Phoenix works her but off every day for you,” Skouby said. “That’s all you can ask. She works hard. She was out there last year working hard. This year, she can go a little harder because she does have someone who can go in for her every so often if we need to, which is nice. She’s on the floor being aggressive.”

When Skouby took over as women’s basketball coach, her first obvious order of business was to increase the roster. She served as an assistant to Fiona Cunningham in volleyball, where juniors Julie Altieri and Grace Young agreed to join the team. Since August, she’s walked the hallways of Cedar Ridge looking to get people to go out for the team. She was so successful that she actually had to cut six players from the roster last month.

Altieri has been a starting guard for each of Cedar Ridge’s four games. Though she hasn’t played an organized basketball game since she was in seventh grade, Altieri leads the team with 10.7 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Young scored nine points against East Chapel Hill last Friday. It was the first time that she played in a basketball game since she was eight years old.

Cedar Ridge will start Central Carolina Conference play against Western Alamance tonight. It figures to be a tough league with Northwood (who reached the 3A Eastern Regional championship game last year), Eastern Alamance and Person leading the way.

But the losing streak that has permeated Red Wolves basketball for nearly two years is now a thing of the past.

In 2020, there were many local traditions that temporarily fell by the wayside because of the pandemic.

Locally, the Jim King/Orange Invitational Wrestling Tournament is a staple at Orange High School during the first weekend in December. Dating back to 1980, some of the best wrestling teams across central North Carolina journey to Hillsborough for the one-day tournament. But the only activity inside Orange’s gym last December was volleyball.

This year, the JKO returned with 13 teams. And Orange returned to the top of the standings.

Behind eleven wrestlers who placed in their respective weight classes, the Panthers finished first with 195 points to win the 40th JKO Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Cardinal Gibbons, who captured the 2019 championship, came in second with 154.5 points. Cary, which has won 21 JKO team championships, finished third with 148 points. Riverside finished with 115.5 points.

It was the tenth time that Orange won the JKO Invitational.

Three Panthers captured individual championships, all making their JKO debut. At 195 pounds, Acoya Isley pinned the top seed, Dylan Wall of Bartlett Yancey, in 4:36.

At 220 pounds, Orange’s top-seeded Elijah Acosta defeated Northwood’s Jake Dunning in the championship match.

At heavyweight, the Panthers Hugo Vazquez defeated Person’s Trevquan Gray 8-2 in the final match of the afternoon. Vazquez, who wrestled at Stanford, didn’t start in his eighth grade season for the Chargers. Three years later, he claimed his first tournament championship.

“It was good to have some first-year guys come through,” said Orange wresting coach Spenser Poteat. “We have some older guys and some younger guys in the lineup and it was refreshing to do this tournament after not having it last year.”

It was an impressive bounce back for Orange from the 2019 JKO, when not one Panther placed in a championship final for the first time in the history of the event. On Saturday, six Panthers reached the championships of their respective weight classes. Along with Vazquez, Acosta and Isley, Braden Crawford (126), Samuel Crawford (152) and Andre Hill (160) all finished in second place.

In the opening month of the season, Poteat and his staff has worked to develop a younger team that lost four wrestlers who qualified for the 3A State Championships last June. Among them was Kessel Summers at 120 pounds, who racked up 115 wins in his Orange career. Hayden Horne (who finished 4th in the state at 220 pounds), Matthew Smith-Breeden, and Henry Joubert-Stanzel also graduated last summer.

Of the three Orange grapplers who won individual championships, only Vazquez has started for Orange in his career. Vazquez competed at 220 pounds in the abbreviated 2021 season last summer.

Isley, who competed at Gravelly Hill Middle School, scored an immediate takedown against Wall in the championship match and used a vice-like grip to keep Wall from escaping. Isley recorded back points as the first period wound to a close to go ahead 6-2. In the second period, Isley started from the bottom and quickly gained a reversal to build an 11-3 lead. Isley finished him off with a pin.

“Acoya has continued to get better every week,” Poteat said. “He knows what our goals are he continues to work towards them.”

In the 220 championship, Dunning nearly got a takedown on Acosta in the early seconds, but Acosta escaped and gained Dunning’s back for the opening takedown. Dunning struggled to find an opening after Acosta quickly gained an escape point to start the third period. Acosta scored a double-leg takedown to take a 5-2 lead in the second. Acosta clamped on a waist lock to haul Dunning to the mat and eventually prevailed 12-5 for his first high school tournament championship.

The opening period of the heavyweight championship match went scoreless between Vazquez and Gray. After Gray gained an early escape point in the second period, Vazez hooked Gray’s arm and secured a trip takedown that led to back points and a 5-2 lead. Vazquez was fresher down the stretch as Gray couldn’t shoot in for a takedown.

“Hugo has come a long way,” Poteat said. “He’s worked hard and we enjoy having him lead this team as a junior.”

Orange’s Dillon Heffernan pinned Paul Vogel of Bartlett-Yancey in the 3rd place at 126 pounds match in 1:41. Heffernan opened the tournament pinning Vogel in the first round in 1:40 before losing to the eventual champion, Cardinal Gibbons’ Liam Hickey.

Orange’s Jared Hutchins finished 3rd at 132 pounds after pinning Northwood’s Aiden Vigus in 2:31. Hutchins reached the semifinals after he pinned Cameron Stokes of Bartlett Yancey in :28 seconds.

Kale Womble and Brendon Worsham finished fourth in their respective weight classes.

The Panthers will return to dual match mode on Wednesday when they face Cedar Ridge, Jordan-Matthews and Providence Grove in a quad match at Red Wolves Arena. The Panthers are tied with Northwood for 1st place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 3-0 record. Orange has defeated Person, Walter Williams and Western Alamance in the opening month of the season as they pursue its 18th conference championship in 19 years.

Photo by Gopack.com

Trenton Gill: The former Cedar Ridge punter was named first-team All-ACC last week following the Wolfpack’s win over North Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium. Gill led the Atlantic Coast Conference in punting average for the second time in his career. He also led the league in punts placed inside the 20-yard line with 31, which is nine more than any other punter in the league. The Wolfpack, which is now ranked #18 in the Associated Press poll, accepted a bid to play in the Holiday Bowl on December 28 in San Diego. The Wolfpack will face UCLA at Petco Park. In the Wolfpack’s 34-30 win over UNC, Gill had five punts for an average of 37 yards. His longest was 54 yards. Two were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Keshawn Thompson: After leading the Campbell football team in tackles this season, Thompson was named to the All-Academic District III team by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Thompson, who is a graduate student working towards his MBA, led Campbell with 80 tackles in 2021.

Emerson Talley: The Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team has reached the Final Four of the NCAA Division II Tournament. On Friday, the Bears defeated #18 Flagler 1-1, prevailing on penalty kicks 4-2 to win the Southeast Regional Championship for just the second time in school history. On Sunday, Lenoir-Rhyne advanced to the Final Four winning in penalties 4-3 over Florida Tech at UWF Soccer Complex in Pensacola, FL. It’s the first time ever that the Bears have reached the Final Four. Lenoir-Rhyne, which is now 12-5-5, will face #1 Grand Valley State at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Thursday afternoon.

Braden Homsey: Homsey finished fourth at 197 pounds in the Arms Software Patriot Open at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia on Saturday. Homsey, competing for Division III Ferrum College, faced Division I opposition. Homsey opened with a 5-3 win over Azeem Bell of Rider University. He advanced to the quarterfinals with a Brock Del Signor of the Wolfpack Wrestling Club. The top seed, Cole Urbas of the University of Pennsylvania, defeated Homsey 16-1. Campbell University’s Levi Hopkins defeated Homsey 12-7 in the third place match. Homsey was the only wrestler from Ferrum College to place in the tournament.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team defeated Patrick Henry Community College 95-77 in Pinehurst on Wednesday. McMullin came off the bench to play 14 minutes, where he compiled nine points, all from 3-point range. He was 3-of-4 from downtown and 3-of-9 from the field. He also had four rebounds. On Saturday, the Flyers defeated Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute 75-67 in Pinehurst. McMullin came off the bench to score six points and grab one rebound in 16 minutes. The Flyers, which are ranked #11 in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association, are now 7-4. Caldwell Community College came into the game undefeated. On November 23, Spartanburg Methodist defeated Sandhills 103-77. McMullin started for the Flyers and scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds. Sandhills will return to action tonight (Monday) to face the Pfeiffer junior varsity squad.