Not many teams can keep up with Lake Norman’s girls basketball team and stay within single digits.

One of the teams is part of the Wildcats’ conference, resulting in a dramatic matchup on Thursday evening when Lake Norman played against Hickory Ridge. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 by HSOT and are tied for first place in the Greater Metro 4 Conference.

Thanks to two crucial shots made by Alexis Shehan in the final moments, the second-ranked Wildcats were able to hold off the 24th-ranked Ragin’ Bulls with a final score of 59-53.

Shehan scored 21 points and led Lake Norman (16-1, 6-0) to victory.

With 33 seconds remaining, she made a fast break layup to outmaneuver the opposing team’s defense and increase the Wildcats’ lead from two to four points. She then followed it up with another steal and layup, effectively ending any chance of an upset by Hickory Ridge.

Samantha Shehan, my sister, achieved a score of 17.

Hickory Ridge (15-2, 5-1) came into the game with a 15-game winning streak, having only been defeated by undefeated Myers Park in their first game of the season. Similar to Myers Park, Lake Norman has not been beaten by any in-state teams this year.

The senior Sheree Gidney contributed 18 points and the sophomore Ma-Kaela Gidney scored 16 points for the Ragin’ Bulls. Additionally, sophomore MaKaila Ritter added 10 points to the team’s score.

Scoring Summary

Lake Norman’s top scorers were Adason Buoniconti with 2 points, Kelsey Rhyne with 11 points, Kaylee Ellis with 1 point, Kendyll Moore with 2 points, Alexis Shehan with 21 points, Samantha Shehan with 17 points, and Addison Sirianni with 5 points.

In the Hickory Ridge game, Claire Watkins scored 6 points, Amya Leathers scored 1 point, Sheree Gidney scored 18 points, Ma-Kaela Gidney scored 16 points, MaKaila Ritter scored 10 points, and Miranda Duley scored 2 points.

Source: highschoolot.com