Will try to second consecutive state championship in three-year history of the school
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Southeast Alamance’s girls’ basketball team will go for a second consecutive state championship after winning the Class 5-A East Regional final.
The Stallions (29-0) will meet North Lincoln (8-21) in the state championship game at noon Saturday at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Southeast defeated Rocky Mount 49-31 on Saturday night for the regional title at East Carolina’s Minges Coliseum in Greenville.
North Lincoln defeated Forest Hills 79-51 in the West Region final Saturday in Hickory. The Knights have a misleading record because they had 17 on-court victories overturned and listed as forfeits stemming from the use of an ineligible player earlier in the season, so they’re 25-4 in games contested. One of the defeats came by 65-62 to Southeast on a neutral court November 28.
Coach Amy Sarratt has emphasized the Stallions’ defense throughout the season and she said that’s the key to making sure things click.
By returning to the state final, it’s another step along a journey that Southeast team members also took last year.
“We’ve been in these situations and I think that can help,” Sarratt said.
Southeast and Class 4-A finalist Maiden (27-0) entered championship week as the only undefeated girls’ teams in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Southeast’s Rreanna Johnson tallied 17 points in the Rocky Mount game, hitting seven of nine shots from the field. Shaniya Paylor and Inysia McIver both had 10 points.
Top-seeded Southeast used a huge third-quarter advantage to pull away from second-seeded Rocky Mount (22-3).
The Stallions led 19-17 at halftime before outscoring the Gryphons 17-2 in the third quarter.
Southeast finished with a 23-18 rebounding edge, with Clara LaChapelle’s seven boards the team’s top mark. She also collected a game-high four steals.
Rocky Mount, which was held to a season-low point total, shot 29.3 percent (12-for-41) from the field and committed 18 turnovers. Southeast ended up with its second-lowest point total of the season.
