Even without its top two players, the Cedar Ridge girls basketball team found a way to earn its first win of 2017.
Taylin Jean scored a career-high 16 points while Miracle Page added 12 to help Cedar Ridge (9-6, 3-3) defeat Northern Vance 49-33 on Friday night at Vikings Gymnasium.
Cedar Ridge played without Carrie Davis and Madison Wardlow, who were both injured in last Saturday’s game against Orange. Davis injured her knee in the waning seconds trying to get her feet set for a jumper. Earlier, she suffered a cut above her left eye after colliding with Orange’s Enzyah Holt for a loose ball, but that’s not believed to be the reason why she missed Friday’s game.
Wardlow suffered a leg injury against the Panthers in the second quarter, but returned to finish the game.
That left Red Wolves’ coach Felton Page without his top two scorers, forcing him to insert several players into unfamiliar positions. Playing on the road following exam break, Cedar Ridge opened lethargic, trailing 10-8 at the end of the first quarter to the Vikings (0-5, 0-14).
Cedar Ridge’s defense held the Vikings to three points in the second quarter, while Jean and Page carried the offensive load to give the Red Wolves an 18-13 halftime lead.
Page scored six points in the third quarter to open up a 22-15 lead. After the Vikings’ Kayleigh Spencer canned a three-pointer with 5:13 remaining in the frame, Yolanda Simpson scored consecutive field goals to extend the Red Wolves’ lead to 28-19.
Jean, who had three of Cedar Ridge’s ten steals, scored six points in the fourth quarter as the Vikings never got the deficit below double figures in the fourth quarter.
Simpson finished with six points, while Natalia Garay had four points and seven rebounds. The Red Wolves beat the Vikings on the boards 32-16.
On Tuesday, Cedar Ridge travels to Southern Durham at 7, starting a span of six games in ten days. The Red Wolves are now in fourth place in the Big 8, one-half game behind J.F. Webb. Cedar Ridge will host Webb on Wednesday night at 6, followed by a Friday date at Chapel Hill.