Battle at the Rock: Northwestern HS vs Byrnes HS

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two matchups were slated to take place on Thursday at South Pointe HS as it was the first day of Battle at the Rock.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4A Northwestern was scheduled to face 5A Byrnes and the host Stallions were set to match up against Providence Day out of Charlotte.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The contest between 4A South Pointe and Providence Day concluded with no matchup having occurred. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the doubleheader turned into a single game feature for Thursday, it gave the spotlight all to the Trojans and Rebels. That Thursday, it was Byrnes who won convincingly over the Trojans with the final score being 56-16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>The First Few Minutes … and the rest was history</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early on in Thursday night's contest, both teams were tied … at two apiece. Byrnes opened up a lead of 10-2 after the first quarter then held an advantage of 23-10 at halftime.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rebels' ballooned to 20 (36-16) following three frames.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>On The Mend</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though the Rebels managed to score often against Northwestern, one of the team's key players was not available for the festivities. Prep Girls Hoops learned that [player_tooltip player_id='331882' first='Josie' last='Workman'], a commit to North Greenville University, is nursing through knee problems she first encountered during an earlier game with Lexington.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":559243,"width":321,"height":211,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/12/IMG_2590-scaled-crop-2321x1524-1669980651.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-559243" width="321" height="211"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Workman's stead, <strong>Jaida Johnson</strong> <strong>(2026)</strong> managed to carry the load for Byrnes as she led all scorers with 14 points. Johnson tallied all of her 14 prior to halftime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":559241,"width":317,"height":208,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/12/IMG_2589-scaled-crop-2339x1536-1669980549.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-559241" width="317" height="208"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rebels were also the beneficiary of a 12-point effort courtesy of <strong>Chassidy Rookard</strong> <strong>(2024)</strong>. She did all of her damage in the second and third quarters. Byrnes as a team sank two from behind the 3-point arc. Both of those departed from Rookard's hands.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":559239,"width":320,"height":210,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/12/IMG_2554-scaled-crop-1392x914-1669980451.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-559239" width="320" height="210"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='558727' first='Timmerian' last='Miller'] </strong>was presented with MVP honors for the game. She finished with nine points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":559237,"width":318,"height":209,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/12/IMG_2575-scaled-crop-1387x911-1669980364.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-559237" width="318" height="209"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='244090' first='Darby' last='Grigg']</strong> was the leading scorer for the Trojans. She led her team with 12 points but was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter due to injury. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>What Happened Last Time?</em></strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>During the 2018-19 season was the last occasion where the Trojans and Rebels got together. On that occasion, which also happened during a midseason tournament, Byrnes got the better of Northwestern with that final score being 63-28.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At that time, the Trojans were part of the same 5A classification that the Rebels still enjoy to this day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Up Next…</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The next matchups listed on the Rebels and Trojans' schedules will see Byrnes return home to take on 4A Riverside on Tuesday while Northwestern remains on the road this Saturday to face off against Rock Hill.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Up Next (for Battle at the Rock)…</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One more girls game is scheduled for Saturday. That contest will see the host Stallions await 3A power Southside.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->