Is the team young? Is the coach in their first year? Are they competing on a big stage outside of the county?

The team playing was the Terry Sanford Bulldogs, however, anyone watching on Friday night would not have realized it.

A first-year student excelled in gathering rebounds, a second-year student made four successful three-point shots, a third-year student steered the team, and a fourth-year student secured the final win.

The Bulldogs defeated Cape Fear 75-68 and secured a spot in the regional championship in Winston-Salem on Tuesday.

The group that persevered through several injuries this year received 16 points in the final quarter from a senior who overcame a history of injuries, their team leader outplayed one of the highest-scoring players in the state, and their challenging early season games showed that each lesson was valuable.

As Rebecca Kaba completed her game-winning performance, the road was filled with banners that said “WINSTON-SALEM BOUND”. She scored 18 points, with all but two points coming in the last quarter.

Terry Sanford maintained a lead for the majority of the game, but unfortunately lost it for a brief moment in the fourth quarter. However, Jaidiah Blake’s three-pointer ignited a 10-point scoring streak, solidifying the win.

At the beginning, the Colts took a 7-2 lead. Teralyn Harris and Kayia Starling were successful in scoring the ball early on.

As the quarter progressed, the top scorer Jayda Angel found her rhythm in transition. However, her baskets were always the result of Breonna Roaf’s ability to penetrate and score effortlessly within the paint.

Roaf took her performance to a new level in the second quarter, with 8 out of her 14 total points in the first half. This gave the Bulldogs a chance to extend their lead to as much as seven points.

Amya Harrington earned 6 out of her 7 points during the second period, giving Terry Sanford a 37-35 lead going into halftime.

The outcome of the game was up in the air when Cape Fear reduced their lag to one point in the third quarter. Angel helped the Colts come back from being behind by two possessions by scoring five consecutive points in the last minute of the third quarter.

The Cape Fear team did not take the lead again until three minutes remained in the fourth quarter. Angel then took a step back and successfully made a three-point shot, giving them a 63-61 lead.

The full-capacity audience was abuzz.

In the last few minutes of the game, Blake scored two three pointers which helped her team secure the victory.

Kaba and Roaf both scored 18 points, however, sophomore Ameya Brown contributed the most with 20 points.

In the game, Brown scored four three-pointers and 10 points in both halves. Blake contributed 9 points while Harrington added 7.

Angel was the top scorer with 28 points. At the end of her impressive career, as an Elon commit, she totaled 2,746 points. This includes 977 points scored during her senior season alone. Harris contributed 16 points for the Colts, while also adding 12 to their score.

Terry Sanford will face off against the number one seeded South Central at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, located on the Wake Forest University campus.

The champion will progress to the 3A state championship on Friday, facing either A.C. Reynolds or West Rowan.

Source: highschoolot.com