We're live and Courtside from the Smith Center in Chapel Hill for the 1A girls basketball championship betweeen Pender High School and Bishop McGuinness. We'll be keeping a running tally throughout this afternoon's contest.
12:05 pm - Tip-off. Bishop holds an 8-2 lead early in the first quarter. The Villains are the West Regional champs and are two-time defending state champs.
12:08 pm - Pender scores the last two buckets and trails 8-6 midway through the opening period.
12:05 pm - Tip-off. Bishop holds an 8-2 lead early in the first quarter. The Villains are the West Regional champs and are two-time defending state champs.
12:08 pm - Pender scores the last two buckets and trails 8-6 midway through the opening period.
12:15 pm - Pender went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 10 apiece, doing a good job crashing the boards, especially on the offensive end. Bishop's height, particularly Erin Thompson in the middle for the Villains, started making its presence felt late in the quarter. Great fan contingent for both schools, but Pender looks to have a few more fans. End first period... 16-14 Bishop McGuinness.
12:25 pm - Bishop opens the quarter on a 8-2 run to take a 24-16 lead with just under 5:00 left in the half. On a side note, members of both the UNC and Duke women's coaching staff are sitting about five feet behind me on press row carrying on an entertaining conversation.
12:30 pm - Bishop leads 27-17 with 2:26 left in the half. Using its height and press, Bishop has forced a number of Pender turnovers. Bishop has also gotten to the foul line on several occasions in the period
12:35 pm - at halftime its 30-22 Bishop McGuinness, as the teams traded 3's to end the half. On a side note, much thanks to John Rendleman formerly of MTN-TV and now of WWAY-TV in Wilmington for hooking a fella up with a seat on press row to blog from as the NCHSAA neglected to reserve a spot as they'd earlier promised.
HALFTIME STATS
SCORE BISHOP 30 PENDER 22
POINTS BISHOP: RONAN 12 PTs PENDER ROBINSON 12 REBOUNDS
BISHOP: THOMPSON 8
PENDER: SEABROOKS 6 BLAND 6
FG% BISHOP 34.5% PENDER 27.3%
TURNOVERS: BISHOP 6 PENDER 7
12:55 pm - Pender has come out on a run to open the third period, cutting the lead to 33-29 with 4 min. left in the third. Of note, Whitney Knight of Bishop has had at least 4 blocked shots in the game. She is a 6'1" freshman who runs the point and, if Avery folks watched their earlier game with Robbinsville, is very quick and lanky for her size.
12:58 pm - 34-31 Bishop leads by 3 and takes a timeout with 3:01 remaining in the third. Pender has taken momentum in the game and has made every shot difficult for the Villains in the quarter thus far.
1:05 pm -- Bishop gets a break on a call on a loose basketball when a foul is called on Pender. Patriots head coach Gary Battle gets a technical when he slaps the scorers table at disgust over the call. Bishop hits two free throws just prior to the end of the quarter. End 3rd quarter: Bishop 38, Pender 33. Of note: the three officials calling this title game are from WESTERN North Carolina's officiating association, all three of which Avery teams have seen this season.
1:15 pm - 5:41 remaining in the contest. Bishop leads 41-35. The intensity and physicality has picked up here in the final period and it's still anyone's game. Both teams are in a bit of foul trouble as Thompson has 3 fouls and Rembielak has 4 for Bishop, while Seabrooks has 4 for the Lady Patriots.
1:25 pm - Bishop on a 6-0 run has taken a double-digit lead at 47-35 lead with 3:42 to go, earning points at the charity stripe. Pender hs gone cold shooting in the quarter, but have gotten plenty of opportunities to score.
1:32 pm - Pender cuts the lead to 49-41 with a minute left to go. Pender is fouling to try to extend the ballgame.
1:40 pm - Bishop lead by 9 with 30 seconds left, and it appears they will win their third straight 1A state girls title.
1:50 pm - Bishop wins it 56-43. Maggie Ronan led the Lady Villains with 16 points. Erinn Thompson was named MVP after adding 14 points and 19 rebounds. For Pender, Janetta Robinson scored 18 points. Muriel Seabrooks grabbed 18 rebounds. Sequoya Bland scored 10 rebounds and grabbed 10 rebounds.
