It’s been nine years since the Orange women’s basketball team has won a conference championship.
With a daunting schedule of five games over a span of seven days looming, the Lady Panthers remain tied for first place in the Big 7 Conference.
For the second year in a row, Orange swept its crosstown rival in a 52-28 win over Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Gymnasium on January 23. The Lady Panthers size dominated the Red Wolves inside with senior center Alexis Stephens leading Orange with 14 points and six rebounds. Orange sophomore Kassidy Tolliver, who played for Cedar Ridge last season, added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Orange (11-6, 6-1 in the Big 7 Conference) remains in a three-way tie for first place with South Granville and Seaforth for first place in the Big 7. The Lady Panthers are scheduled to travel to South Granville on Thursday night which would end a string of 13 days without a game due to a string of winter weather.
Sophomore Elliott Weisenfeld led the Red Wolves (2-14, 0-6) with nine points.
Orange’s midcourt trap defense forced 39 Red Wolf turnovers. Lady Panthers point guard Maura McMurtry finished with six steals while senior forward Natalie Roberson had four steals and three blocks.
“Being a graduate of Orange High School, it’s nice coming over here and getting a win,” said Orange head coach Josh Underwood. “The players look forward to this rivalry. I never overlook Cedar. It’s a rivalry game for a reason. Any team can lose on any given night if you don’t take it seriously. We prepare for this one just like we would if we were playing for a conference championship.”
The Lady Panthers ended a stretch of three games over four days with back-to-back wins. After suffering its first Big 7 Conference loss to Seaforth on January 20, Orange turned around the following night and defeated Durham School of the Arts at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham.
While players in spring and summer travel leagues often play numerous games in one day, Underwood still says the strain of three game in four days can add up.
“I still think it’s grueling,” Underwood said. “Players have grown more used to it. On Thursday in practice, we did a little shoot around. We iced and recovered playing back-to-back games. We supported the Orange Middle School team.”
While both teams struggled from the field coming out of the gates, Orange steadily built an 11-0 lead starting with four consecutive free throws from Stephens.
Tolliver scored the game’s opening field goal on a coast-to-coast drive, followed by a 3-pointer from McMurtry. A lay-in by Stephens off a pass from Tolliver led to a Cedar Ridge timeout.
Hailey McLeod ended Cedar Ridge’s scoreless streak off a bank shot with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter, but it was the lone Red Wolf basket in the opening eight minutes. McMurtry responded with a 3-pointer to close out the frame as Orange lead 15-2.
Weisenfeld drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter for the Red Wolves, but Stephens and Tolliver connected on consecutive field goals. After Orange’s Kyla Mehl hit a 3-pointer, Weisenfeld connected on another shot from downtown for the final points of the first half to reduce Orange’s lead to 29-15 at halftime.
Orange scored the opening ten points to start the second half and put the game out of reach. Tolliver scored the opening four points, followed by an old school 3-point play from Stephens to increase the Lady Panther lead to 37-15. Orange built its lead to 46-17 early in the fourth quarter after a basket by senior Payton Borland,
Cedar Ridge’s next scheduled game is a trip to Carrboro on Friday night. On Saturday, the Red Wolves will travel to Pittsboro to face Seaforth.
