Northern Guilford vs. Terry Sanford: 6A Championship

Instead of only two days of championship basketball at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, that number was increased to four with the number of North Carolina High School Athletic Association classifications doubling from four to eight.    The final two 6A assemblings standing would be Northern Guilford and Terry Sanford. The Nighthawks won the West Regional championship following wins over Statesville, Glenn, T.C. Roberson and Alexander Central. On the East Regional end of the ledger, the Bulldogs claimed victories over Harnett Central, Southern Lee, Vance County and Seventy-First.    Championship euphoria would be experienced by Northern Guilford after its 62-52 victory over Terry Sanford. We at Prep Girls Hoops were on site for the big 6A contest and recognize a few of the primetime performers from Thursday's play.     Towards the conclusion of Thursday's championship contest, McField was serenaded with MVP chants by Nighthawk nation. McField more than earned those chants – and the Kay Yow MVP honors as she paved the way to 6A state victory for the Nighthawks with a game-high 24 points. McField made plays both in the field and at the free throw line for the Nighthawks as she connected on 10 of her 14 attempts from the charity stripe. Her stellar performance also included seven rebounds, three assists and five steals as she played all 32 minutes of Thursday afternoon's 6A state get-together.     Settle does anything but settle for second-best. The standout Northern Guilford freshman contributed greatly to the winning Nighthawks effort with the 16 points she placed on the scoreboard. Settle's eight rebounds also had her two shy of a double-double and she departed from The Joel with West Most Outstanding Player honors plus state hardware. She does not shy away from contact that can place her at the free throw line as evidenced by the 10 free throws she attempted. Settle was true on six of those attempts. Her performance on Thursday also included a block and a steal.     The Nighthawks also greatly benefitted from the solid minutes that were provided by Pearley who is one of four 2027s on this season's Northern Guilford roster. Pearly added 14 points to the Nighthawks' cause. When she was fouled, it translated to auspicious fortunes at the free throw line for Northern Guilford as she splashed home five of her six tries from the charity stripe. One has to game plan for Pearley if she has the ball and attempts from long range. A midrange jump shot is also part of her offensive repertoire and she can get crafty at times with how she goes at defenders and attacks the rim.     Another key element to the winning formula for Northern Guilford was Lewis who was one of two seniors who wore the Nighthawks' signature purple hue one final time. Lewis made that final time in Northern Guilford threads count as she added eight points to the Nighthawks' total. She is listed at 5-foot-11 on Northern Guilford's roster and that size advantage can come in useful when bolstering a team's rebounding efforts. Lewis hauled in seven off the glass. She fuses together her rebounding prowess with the ability to handle the ball as if she were a guard. Lewis also does not shy away from contact that can place her at the free throw line.     Blake's junior campaign with Terry Sanford may not have concluded as planned, but she can still be proud of the performance she put forth to keep her Bulldogs in a spot to win. She would win East Most Outstanding Player honors following her 21-point outing. One can place Blake in a team's starting five at either of the guard spots in the backcourt. A strong point of Blake is how she remains in attack mode and has no problems drawing contact to get to the free throw line. Blake was true on seven of her nine attempts from the free throw line. Her 10 rebounds gave her a double-double and she also collected a steal.     For Terry Sanford, the sky(e) is the limit with Alani-Skye sporting the Bulldogs' signature navy blue and red hues. Wilkerson spearheaded the Bulldogs' efforts in the frontcourt as she concluded her afternoon with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. She would play in all 32 minutes and also led her team on the offensive glass with five. Most of what she gets accomplished is in the paint but she will display her versatility with a willingness to attempt shots from long range. Wilkerson is one of six from the class of 2027 on this season's Terry Sanford assembling.     Also providing valuable minutes for Terry Sanford would be Blake in what would be her final time representing the Bulldogs on the court. Brown would tally eight points. Brown understands the art of organizing an offense in a half court set and can handle the rock with either her right or her left hand. She displays a great deal of confidence in her ability to connect on her 3-point attempts. Brown is one of two seniors on this season's version of Terry Sanford. Three rebounds were also part of her afternoon. She is one of those guards that may be overlooked by some given she is only listed at 5-foot-4, but she makes up for it with plenty of skill and veteran instincts.

Instead of only two days of championship basketball at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, that number was increased to four with the number of North Carolina High School Athletic Association classifications doubling from four to eight.