Northwestern boys, Nation Ford girls use quick starts to take region basketball wins
The Northwestern Trojans and the Nation Ford Falcons split a Region 3-5A doubleheader Wednesday night at Northwestern in Rock Hill.
The Trojans won the boys’ contest, 69-32, while the Falcons claimed the girls’ game by a count of 67-32.
The Northwestern boys used plenty of defensive pressure, a good transition game and some outstanding shooting to register the one-sided victory.
“This was a huge win for us tonight,” Northwestern head coach John Bramlett said postgame. “We stress playing hard, playing good defense and playing together every day in practice, and tonight every player did just that.”
The Trojans used their quickness and pressure to bolt to a 9-0 lead with just less two minutes gone in the contest. The Falcons got their first points with 5:42 left in the opening quarter to cut the deficit to 9-3, but the Trojans won the remainder of the period by a count of 12-7 for a 21-10 advantage when the second quarter started. Qua Allison and AJ Thompson keyed the Trojans’ rally with nine and six points, respectively.
The Trojans scored the first basket of the second quarter for a 23-10 cushion, but Petey Tuipulotu scored six straight points for Nation Ford to trim the margin to 23-16 with 5:34 left until halftime.
That was as close as the Falcons would get the rest of the night.
Ger-Cari Caldwell answered with four straight points for Northwestern. That started an 8-0 run which gave the Trojans a 31-16 lead at halftime.
The Trojans continued to play multiple combinations in the second half with the same results. They outscored the Falcons 15-12 in the third period for a 46-28 lead and piled up a 23-4 advantage in the final quarter to close out the rout. Allison led the scoring parade with 18 points. Mason Grigg, who was steady all night, finished with 17, Thompson had 10 and Caldwell chipped in eight.
Tuipulotu paced Nation Ford with 17 points, and Tyler Thaxton added seven.
Bramlett continued his use of multiple lineups through out the night and cleared his bench before the clock reached the four minute mark in the final quarter. No matter what combination he had on the court, the relentless pressure and running the floor continued.
“Everything we do starts with defense,” added Bramlett. “The kids take pride in what they do on the defensive end of the floor. I give them a little freedom on offense because they all work so hard on defense.”
The Trojans are 15-4 overall and 2-0 in the region. The Falcons are 8-12 in all games and 0-3 in the region.
Girls: ‘Adams is our leader’
The Nation Ford girls’ team used a quick start and a good transition game for its easy victory.
The Falcons raced to a 20-6 advantage after one period. Kelci Adams led the charge in the opening eight minutes with 12 points. By the time halftime rolled around the Falcons were in front 37-15. They continued the assault in the second half. They outscored the Trojans 23-12 in the third period for a 60-27 lead, and they coasted home from there.
Adams finished with 22 points. Adrienne Ruffalo, who scored six in the first period, finished with 17, and Denaundria Greene chipped in nine to the winning cause.
Darby Grigg led Northwestern with 11 points. Lainey Chitwood added six for the Trojans.
“Adams is our leader,” Nation Ford head coach Coretta Richmond said. “We have a very good group of players who work hard, play defense, add to the offense, and run the break.”
Richmond, who is in her first year at Nation Ford, is pleased with the progress her team has made this season.
“We lost four starters from a year ago, and we have worked hard and come together better as a team with every practice and every game,” added Richmond. “This was a big win for us because we needed it to get back in the playoff picture.”
The Falcons are 10-8 overall and 1-2 in the region. The Trojans are 4-12 in all games and 0-2 in region play.
What’s next?
The Northwestern basketball teams travel to Fort Mill on Friday for another region game, while Nation Ford hosts York Prep in a non-region encounter the same night. The girls’ games start at 6 p.m., and the boys play directly afterward, at 7:30 p.m.