In 20 years, the Terry Sanford girls’ basketball team will compete for a state championship in the N.C. High School Athletic Association, marking a historic occasion.

(3) Terry Sanford defeated (1) South Central with a score of 58-50 to win the 3A eastern regional championship at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

Terry Sanford maintained the lead for the majority of the game, experiencing only two instances of a tie and two instances of a change in lead, all occurring within the first few minutes of the game.

South Central held the lead for the final 33 seconds of the first quarter, with the Falcons ahead 10-9. This was the biggest lead of the game for South Central.

Terry Sanford was in the lead with a score of 12-10 after the first quarter, and 26-21 at halftime. The Bulldogs were able to increase their lead to more than ten points during the second half.

At the 3:15 mark of the third quarter, the Bulldogs held a 12-point lead with a score of 38-26. Despite this, South Central made a comeback effort.

South Central finished the third quarter with a 9-3 streak, reducing the deficit to six points by the start of the fourth quarter with a score of 41-35.

In the fourth quarter, the Falcons continued to reduce the lead. Brooklynne Evans made a free throw with 1:28 remaining, bringing the score to 50-46. Over the next minute, the two teams exchanged baskets. However, with just 28 seconds left, Terry Sanford still maintained a four-point lead with a score of 54-50.

The victory for Terry Sanford was secured with successful free throws from Breanna Roaf and Jaidith Blake.

The team’s statistics were mostly balanced, except for the Bulldogs who had a significant lead over South Central in rebounding with a score of 51-31, particularly 25-13 on the offensive boards. In addition, Terry Sanford scored 20 points in fastbreaks while South Central only scored 14.

Amaya Brown scored 16 points and led the scoring for Terry Sanford. Two other Bulldogs also achieved double-doubles, with Rebecca Kaba contributing 14 points and 10 rebounds and Roaf finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Blake received a total of 11 points for Terry Sanford, while Taleah Meadows contributed 12 rebounds.

The top scorer for South Central was Evans with a total of 14 points and 13 rebounds. While Dixon contributed eight points and Mayo had seven points, Evans was the lone Falcon to reach double-digits in scoring.

On Friday, Terry Sanford (26-5) will face off against (2) West Rowan in the 3A state championship game in Winston-Salem. Earlier in the day, West Rowan beat A.C. Reynolds 66-54 in the western regional championship.

Terry Sanford has appeared in three state championship games during its time as a school, with a second place finish in each instance.

With the defeat against the Bulldogs, South Central’s season concludes with a record of 28-3.

Terry Sanford won against South Central with a score of 58-50 in the Box Score.

Terry Sanford High School’s basketball stats: Amaya Brown scored 16 points, Rebecca Kaba had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Breanna Roaf had 13 points and 13 rebounds, Jaidith Blake scored 11 points, Zamiya Reddick contributed 2 points, and Amya Harrington also scored 2 points.

Brooklynne Evans scored 14 points and had 13 rebounds in South Central’s game. Charmaine Dixon contributed 8 points, Nitani Mayo had 7, Jaidyn Boswell and Sabraya Baker both had 6, Kaelyn McCarter had 5, and Akima Hukins and Gabrielle Freeman each had 2 points.

Source: highschoolot.com