By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
There have been different types of experiences for Southeast Alamance’s girls’ basketball team through two weeks of the state playoffs.
Now the Stallions are about to step into another as they play in the Class 2-A East Region final on Thursday afternoon at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Yet there’s something familiar with that. Mid-Carolina Conference rival Seaforth will be the opponent.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Southeast coach Amy Sarratt said.
The matchup comes between relatively new schools. Seaforth is playing in its fourth season, while Southeast is in its second school year.
One of them will be in the state championship game.
Southeast (27-3), the No. 12 seed, will tangle with second-seeded Seaforth (28-2) for the fourth time this season at 2:00 p.m. Seaforth won the first and third meetings with Southeast.
Southeast won its third consecutive playoff road game in the regional semifinal by claiming a 43-33 victory at Fairmont on Friday night. Seaforth defeated East Duplin 53-32 in the other regional semifinal.
Sarratt said the string of road games came with benefits.
“I think it was good for us,” she said. “We got to play some really good teams. We didn’t want to be the No. 12 seed, but I think it was blessing in disguise.”
Competing in challenging atmospheres is something Sarratt said the team embraced.
“Our girls like playing in that type of environment,” she said. “There’s that atmosphere and energy.”
For Thursday’s game, multiple buses will take Southeast student fans to the regional final.
Seaforth won the January 7 meeting by 51-48 at Southeast before the Stallions captured the rematch 55-53 on February 7 in Pittsboro. Southeast was the host for the Mid-Carolina Conference Tournament final, falling to Seaforth 60-46 on February 21.
In the season’s first meeting, Seaforth outscored the Stallions 14-3 in the fourth quarter. Southeast shot 1-for-15 in the last quarter.
Seaforth is led by senior guard Gabby White, a Virginia recruit averaging about 18 points per game. She scored 26, 17, and 16 points in the three games vs. the Stallions.
Southeast’s rapid rise has come under Sarratt, a former Southern Alamance coach. She had taken the Patriots as far as the third round in the state playoffs.
Now, she’s at a new level.
“I’ve never been a part of this,” she said.
There’s not a senior on the Southeast roster.
“We had that core group that came from Southern Alamance,” Sarratt said. “They worked really hard.”
Seaforth has reached a regional final for the third year in a row. The Hawks played in the state title game in 2023, falling to Salisbury.
Southeast’s successes this season include a February non-conference victory at Western Alamance, which will play in Friday night’s Class 3-A state final.
Thursday’s winner goes to Saturday’s Class 2-A state championship game against either East Burke (30-1) or North Wilkes (29-1). Those teams meet at 6:00 p.m. Thursday. Saturday’s game time will be announced late Thursday night. Saturday’s slate will include four games – two in Class 2-A and two in Class 4-A.
Playing in Thursday’s Class 2-A regional finals on the boys’ side are Northwood, a member of the Mid-Carolina Conference, against West Bladen in the East Region final at 4:00 p.m. and defending state champion Reidsville vs. Bandys in the West Region final at 8:00 p.m.
How Southeast did it …
Southeast knocked off top-seeded Fairmont on Friday night. Clara LaChapelle posted 13 points, Shaniya Paylor notched 11 points and Inysia McIver had 10 points for Southeast.
The Stallions led 20-12 at halftime and 30-19 after three quarters.
The Golden Tornadoes had trouble producing against Southeast’s zone defense. But twice in the fourth quarter, the margin dipped two three points before the Stallions pulled away.
Lyric McNair’s 10 points and Aaliyah Durna’s eight points were tops for Fairmont (24-2).
Southeast is the lowest-seeded team among the eight regional finalists across all four girls’ classifications.
