The Orange women’s basketball team will start the 2nd half of the Big 8 Conference schedule in the thick of the state playoff hunt. On Friday night, Orange stormed out to a 17-7 lead, then held on for dear life in the 2nd half to defeat Southern Durham 48-42 at Panther Gymnasium. Icez Barnett led Orange with 17 points, while Lauren Cates had 12. Senior Grace Dively had a season-high eleven points. Southern Durham had a 10-0 run in the 2nd half to cut the Orange lead to one point, and had three possessions to take the lead. But Orange’s defense came up big to hand the Spartans its first loss in Big 8 play. Orange is now 11-4, 4-2 in the Big 8 Conference. They return to action on Monday morning for a special Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday game against Chatham Central at Northwood High School. Tipoff will be at 11 AM.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is wrestler Daina Pritchard. On Wednesday night, Pritchard earned a hard-fought victory over Hillside’s Miles Durant 10-8. Pritchard went into the final period trailing 3-2, but got a near fall in the final minute, then had to ward off Durant’s own attempt at a pin in the waning seconds. On January 4, Pritchard defeated Ron Hull of East Forsyth in the Glenn Duals in Kernersville as Cedar Ridge defeated the Eagles 43-42. Pritchard also claimed a forfeit win against Southeast Guilford in the Glenn Duals. Daina will compete in his senior night match on Friday against Southern Durham inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.

The Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team went into exam break in style last week. They defeated crosstown rival Orange 44-37, the first time they defeated the Lady Panthers at home since 2014. On Friday, the Red Wolves defeated Northern Durham 50-32 at Poe Gymtorium in Durham. Madison Wardlow led Cedar Ridge with 21 points. Earlier in the week, Wardlow scored 23 against Orange. Tori Dalehite had eleven points against Northern. Cedar Ridge is in the hunt to make the 3A state playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. They’re 3-2 in the Big 8 Conference and travel to Hillside on Friday.

Following a disappointing loss to Cedar Ridge, the Orange women’s basketball team rebounded well last week. The night after losing to the Red Wolves, the Lady Panthers rolled past Chapel Hill 64-42 at Orange Gymnasium. On Friday, Orange defeated Northwood 52-37 on a night that belonged to the Lady Panther freshman. Mary Moss Wirt had a career-high 12 points, while classmate Aaliyah Harris added six points. It was Orange’s eighth win outside of Hillsborough this season. The Lady Panthers are 10-4, 2-2 in the Big 8 Conference going into Friday’s game against Southern Durham in Hillsborough.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is basketball guard Madison Wardlow. On Tuesday night, Wardlow scored 24 points as the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team defeated Orange 44-37 in Red Wolves Gymnasium. Wardlow is the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge. She scored 13 points in Cedar Ridge’s game against Chapel Hill on December 18. In Cedar Ridge’s 32-29 win over East Chapel Hill on December 11, Wardlow was the only Red Wolf in double figures with ten points. Last season, Wardlow helped the Cedar Ridge women to the state playoffs, the only basketball team from Hillsborough to see the postseason. Cedar Ridge travels to Northern Durham on Friday night. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com.

The Orange wrestling team is on the verge of winning its 17th consecutive conference championship. On Wednesday night, Orange defeated Chapel Hill 37-21. Orange’s Chandler Harward got the Panthers off to a good start with a 3-1 decision victory in the opening match. Donald Hicks and Jake McBroom won the subsequent matches to keep the Panthers ahead. Harward is 20-6 after placing 2nd at 182 pounds in the Quentin Crosby Tournament at Dudley High School in Greensboro last weekend. Next up for Orange is the Havelock Duals on Saturday.