A District 3-4A championship was on the line for the Lady Patriots of Winston Academy last week.
WA won the regular season district title after defeating Oak Hill Academy towards the end of the regular season, but the Lady Pats were going to have to do it inside enemy territory last week. The Lady Raiders used their home environment to their advantage and won the big game when it mattered with a 68-46 victory as the Lady Pats came up just short.
The home team would prove to be too much offensively in the first half as they ran out to an 18-7 lead and a 42-22 lead at the half. That knocked WA out of its gameplan of playing stout defense and allowed Oak Hill to pull away despite a more competitive second half.
Julia Gregory and Braley Dickerson each had 13 points in the win with Hayden Cheatham finishing with 10 points. Gregory, Dickerson and AnnCarter Perkins all earned All-Tournament team honors.
To get to the championship, WA had to win a game and the Lady Pats made a statement against Winona Christian. WA allowed nine points in the first quarter and a combined seven the rest of the way as it obliterated the Lady Stars, 50-16.
After a close first quarter that saw the Lady Pats lead by a narrow margin of 10-9, WA rolled out 22 points in the second quarter and allowed just three points as the Lady Pats led 32-12. Gregory led the team with 16 points in the game and hit four 3-pointers in the first half. Layton Nowell had 13 points and Dickerson scored 10.
With a second place finish, WA (15-9) played Lee Academy on Tuesday night for a chance to advance in the North State tournament at Kirk Academy. A victory would have pit them against Manchester Academy on Thursday night. If WA is able to make it to the semifinal round, the team plays Friday night at 5:15 p.m. against Either Kirk Academy or the winner of Winona Christian/St. Joe.
Boys
The WA boys made it to the semifinals of the district title as well with the Patriots finishing in fourth place of the tournament and booking a trip to North State.
It began on Tuesday when the team went head-to-head with Carroll Academy. Clinging to a three-point lead heading into the final quarter, the Pats were able to hold on and win a thrilling 46-44 ball game to advance in the tournament and send the Rebels home.
It was a game that was never out of reach for the Rebs as WA led just 11-9 after a quarter and extended that out to 25-20 at the halftime break. After Carroll cut into that lead at 36-33 after three frames, WA had to scratch and claw to get out of the game with a win.
Omar Scott did the damage for the Pats as the senior scored 21 points in the game including 13 in the first half.
In the semifinals, the Patriots played hard against Canton but a tough third quarter did the damage in a 53-41 win for the Panthers. The third was the only major discrepancy in the game as WA traded punches throughout the game with the Panthers with a 15-14 deficit after a quarter and 24-20 lead at the half.
WA would be outscored 17-7 in the third quarter to fall behind 41-27. WA won the fourth, but it was too deep a hole to dig out of by that point.
Bryson Wright was leading scorer with 14 points and hit a trio of 3-pointers.
In the third-place game, WA struggled to keep pace with Winona Christian. The Pats surrendered 22 points in the first quarter and 39 points in the first half of a 57-44 loss. The Pats fell behind by 21 points at the half but climbed back into striking distance before it was too late.
Wright again led the way as he scored 17 points and had five 3-pointers in this matchup. Scott had 10 points, but no one else was able to manage more than five points.
WA (3-12) played fellow No. 4 seed Delta Streets on Tuesday night and a win would match them up with Lee Academy on Thursday night. Semifinals will be Friday at 7:45 p.m.
