Winston Salem Christian Holds on to Win 2020 Independent School National Championship.

Winston Salem Christian Holds on to Win 2020 Independent School National Championship   In year # 3 for the Insider Exposure Independent School National Championship it has continued to grow in numbers of teams but also in level of talent in the gym. The 2020 event saw 19 Teams come to Mooresville, NC - coming from NC, CT, VA, FL, DC, MD, SC & Canada to play against some of the toughest female ballers that North America has to offer in 2 separate brackets - Elite or Gold. The 3 day event kicks off on Friday February 21 with all of the teams playing games to advance, I will be focusing on the Elite bracket for this article.   Road to the Championship Game: Blair Academy (NJ) - This team comes back to Mooresville after playing in the Championship game last year and losing to a very talented Westridge Academy team. This year they are back and looked even better, they returned the best backcourt in the Country with 2021 - 5’11” - Guard - Olivia Miles & 2021 - 6’1” - Guard - Dominique Darius, who have both garnered interest from all of the Top NCAA Div 1 programs in America. The biggest surprise for Blair is the development of 2022 - 6’4” - Post - Tabitha Amanze - who caught everyone's attention last year but has really taken her skills & strength up a lot this year. Head Coach Quint Clarke is always prepared for his competition and keeps a small roster of talented players to ensure everyone has a role in the success of the team. Round 1 - Blair defeats J.Addison (Canada) 68 - 46 Quarter-Final - Blair defeats St. Laurent (Canada) 63 - 41 Semi-Finals - Blair defeats National Christian Academy (DC) - 54 - 39   Winston Salem Christian (NC) - This team is making its first appearance in the event but the coaching staff is very familiar to these surroundings, Head Coach Delaney Rudd won the 2019 Championship with Westridge Academy, he is also the 2018 3rd Place winner. New Team, new faces but same old Winning ways for Delaney and his teams. This group is built on their defense and ability to suffocate other teams with pressure and High IQ play. They have taken the most charges of any team I have seen this year. 2020 - 5’10’ - Guard - <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/amira-williams/">Amira Williams</a> (College of Charleston Commit) is the lone Senior on this team and 1 of the best perimeter defenders. 2021 - 6’3” - Post - Kiandra Browne - Is a highly skilled player that can Block shots but is a great passer & takes a lot of charges. Their roster is deep with talent and potentially 8 or more Division 1 Players in the future. Round 1 - Winston Salem Christian defeats TRC Academy (Canada) - 64 - 31 Quarter-Final - Winston Salem Christian defeats Kings Christian Collegiate - 51 - 24 Semi-Final - Winston Salem Christian defeats Putnam Science Academy (CT) 46 - 45   Game Recap Both of these coaches are very familiar with each other - Delaney Rudd recognized early on that Blair - Sophomore - Tabitha Amanze - was someone that he needed to have on the bench. From the Tip of the ball where Winston Salem Christian won it, they called the 1st play for - 2021 - Post - Kiandra Browne to isolate Amanze on the block and there was the 1st foul, 11 seconds into the game. Blair would come back to score the 1st points of the game on a contested layup by 2021 - Guard - Olivia Miles - to make it 2 - 0 in their favor. After a Winston Salem bucket by Browne, they came back down the court again with 2021 - Guard - Sandrine Clesca - driving the ball to the lane and dishing to Kiandra Browne for the early lead at 4 - 2. Olivia Miles comes right back with a step back 3-Ptr to give Blair the 5 - 4 lead, after a stop on the defensive side Dominique Darius was able to get loose on the baseline for a short baby hook for a 7 - 4 lead with 4:30 left in the 1st quarter. The scoring went back & forth throughout the period, Winston Salem Christian took the lead back at 11 - 9 after a great drive and dish by 2020 - <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/amira-williams/">Amira Williams</a> - To 2021 - Guard - Noble Tsumas - who knocked down a corner 3-Ptr right in front of the Blair bench. Dom Darius came right back to tie the game on a jumper of her own at 11 - 11, shortly after Blair worked the ball around to Tabitha and she went up for a layup, Kiandra Browne was able to slide over and take the charge for the 2nd foul and Tabitha in the 1st Quarter, This changed everything. Next time down the floor 2021 - <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/malaya-cowles/">Malaya Cowles</a> - Gets an offensive rebound put back to make it 14 - 11, <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/amira-williams/">Amira Williams</a> get a driving layup after a miss by Blair to push the lead to 16 - 11, but Dominique Darius comes back with a 3-Ptr to close out the scoring at 16 - 14 to end the period, Winston Salem Christian holding onto that lead.   Winston Salem used the momentum of Tabitha being in foul trouble and spending large chunks of time on the bench in the 2nd period to outscore Blair 14 - 8 in this period and held a 30 - 22 Halftime lead. Out of Halftime Blair went to work on the defensive side of the ball & held Winston Salem to 6 Points total in the period, they were only down 2 Points heading into the 4th Quarter at 36 - 34.   4th Quarter The game is tied at 40 with 5:10 left on the clock - <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/amira-williams/">Amira Williams</a> breaks the tie at the free throw line, a drive & dish by Sandrine Clesca to 2021 - 6’2” - Ornella Niankan - Puts Winston Salem up 43 - 40. Blair comes back with a free throw by 2023 - 6’2” - Wing - Jaylin Hartman & a 3-Ptr by Olivia Miles in consecutive possessions to regain the lead at 44 - 43 with 2:56 left in the game. Out of a timeout by Delaney Rudd, Winston Salem Christian gets a great baseline drive & jumpstop by Sandrine Clesca to regain the lead 45 - 44. Blair is totally unfazed at this point, Olivia Miles penetrates the defense and drops a dime to 2022 - 5’10” - Wing - Sophia Davis - To regain the lead 46 - 45 with 2:10 remaining in the game.With a 1 Pt lead and 1:45 left on the clock Blair suffered a crucial backcourt call, Clesca drives the ball and got to the free throw line and hit them both to get the lead back 47 - 46, Off the miss by Blair, Clesca finds a streaking <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/malaya-cowles/">Malaya Cowles</a> for a basket to increase the lead to 49 - 46 with 1:10 on the clock. Blair was able to get to the free throw line with Davis knocking down 1 of 2 to make it 49 - 47, Winston Salem Christian was able to get a driving basket by 2021 - Guard - Angelica Juste-Jean - with 00:35 seconds on the clock to extend the lead to 51 - 47. <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/malaya-cowles/">Malaya Cowles</a> & Sandrine Clesca both hit Free Throws to close out the scoring with a Final of 53 - 47 & the Independent School National Championship staying in North Carolina.   Winston Salem - Head Coach: Delaney Rudd - Said “Our kids get up for Big Games, thats what your supposed to do” while talking about the Championship game with me, they are currently 25 - 2 on the season and hope to get that elusive invite to NY to play in the Geico Nationals in April.   This game was like a really good boxing match, both teams took their punches and even had some misses but they stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring waiting for the other team to make a move.