On Saturday, the Charlotte Catholic girls’ basketball team, with UNC recruit Blanca Thomas at the helm, will have a chance to secure the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A state championship win.

Thomas guided Charlotte Catholic, the third-ranked team, to a 61-55 victory against top-ranked Watauga on Thursday afternoon at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem. He scored 27 points for his team.

Scoring was difficult at the start, as the score was 2-2 in the first three minutes of the game. However, Catholic managed to score before the end of the quarter, taking an 11-8 lead. Thomas contributed six points in the initial quarter.

During the first half, Kate Sears’ strong performance helped keep Watauga competitive as she scored 12 points. However, despite her efforts, the Pioneers found themselves behind 30-23 at halftime. Thomas also had an impressive first half, contributing 17 points and eight rebounds. The Cougars held a 10-point lead in points scored in the paint.

Watauga closed the gap in the second half, reducing the advantage previously held by Catholic. They outpaced Catholic in the third quarter, scoring 15 points compared to Catholic’s 10. This was largely due to two quick baskets at the start of the half.

During the latter part of the third quarter, Blair Haines made a three-pointer from the corner, resulting in a tied game and causing Charlotte Catholic to call a timeout. Sears contributed 12 points in the third quarter and Watauga fell behind with a score of 40-38.

In the beginning of the final quarter, Gracynn Gough scored a three-point basket for Catholic, resulting in a five-point advantage for the Cougars. This played a crucial role in their win, as Watauga was unable to narrow the gap to less than four points.

In front of UNC’s Courtney Banghart, the coach of her future college team, Thomas scored 27 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead Charlotte Catholic. While the rest of her team struggled to score in double digits, Olivia Fava, Gough, and Maggie Kernodle contributed nine points each.

Sears was the top scorer of the game, scoring 38 points. She also had eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

On Saturday, Charlotte Catholic will compete against either (2) Rolesville or (1) Hoggard in the 4A state championship game.

The final score of the game between Charlotte Catholic and Watauga was 61-55.

The Charlotte Catholic team was led by Blanca Thomas with 27 points and 18 rebounds. Also contributing were Olivia Fava, Gracynn Gough, Maggie Kernodle, Kate Mcardle, and Martha Tucker with 9, 9, 9, 6, and 1 point(s) respectively.

The players from Watauga High School and their respective points scored in the game were Kate Sears with 38 points, Blair Haines with 6 points, Julie Matheson with 5 points, Charlotte Torgerson with 4 points, and Laney Shook with 2 points.

Source: highschoolot.com