The Southeast Alamance High School girl’s basketball team kept its undefeated season alive with a 54-44 victory over the Eastern Alamance Eagles on Senior Night. The teams entered the game having won 22 and 17 games, respectively. Throughout the first three quarters, the Eagles managed to keep pace with Southeast Alamance until the Stallions used a 12-6 fourth quarter to pull away.
Head coach Amy Sarratt said that despite everything else going on, she wasn’t going to let it distract the team from trying to win its second straight state championship.
“We came here with a job to do,” Sarratt said. “Senior night came second because I want to win and we have a goal. We got that done first because we knew what we came here for.”
Offensively, Southeast managed to break down the Eagles’ zone defense to generate lots of points in the paint. Their inside-out offense allowed players to find open lanes where they were able to attack the basket or put themselves in a position to score. Senior guard Shainya Paylor said it’s an offense that matches the team’s biggest strengths.
“Our inside-out offense always works for us because we’re not the best shooting team,” Paylor said. “We swing it, catch the defense locking, and then we get our layups.”
The first quarter immediately looked like a battle of conference heavyweights, as both teams traded baskets. Southeast Alamance jumped out to an early lead thanks to senior forward Clara LaChapelle, who had two quick steals and a drive to the basket. Their early start wouldn’t last as 3-pointers by junior forward Makayla Scott and senior guard Rhianna Gregory helped pace the Stallions to a 14-13 lead at the end of the quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Stallions used defense to spark their offense as sophomore guard Rreanna Johnson recorded consecutive layups off steals. Paylor said the team emphasizes turning defense into offense, which helped their scoring.
“It’s a very big focus,” Paylor said. “That’s what we preach in practice — defense creates offense. Without defense, we’re getting nothing on offense because that’s how we get our points.”
The Stallions led by as much as 7 in the second quarter thanks to a personal 5-0 run by senior guard Ciara Payton that put them up 24-17. Yet every time the Stallions appeared to be building a big lead, Eastern Alamance answered with a 3-pointer. Southeast Alamance went into halftime leading 26-20.
Although the Eagles had managed to stay in the game with five first-half 3-pointers, Sarratt was confident her team would overcome those numbers. She said they could afford to give up some 3-pointers as long as Eastern Alamance didn’t get easy shots inside.
“We knew they were going to hit some 3’s, especially Gregory, but I didn’t think they were going to beat us hitting 3’s,” Sarratt said. “I thought they were going to beat us by getting into the paint, so we went to the zone, and Clara especially played a great defensive game, getting steals every time they tried to attack inside.”
However, Eastern Alamance appeared to find an offensive rhythm early in the second half, cutting the Stallions’ lead to just three thanks to a 3-pointer from Gregory. Despite scoring 18 points in the quarter, Southeast Alamance managed to match the Eagles’ scoring thanks to Paylor, who accounted for almost half of their scoring in the third quarter.
Sarratt said the team talked about not settling and credited Paylor for routinely organizing the offense to get good shots.
“It all starts with Shaniya up top,” Sarratt said. “They were helping out a lot on defense and she would kick out or penetrate and dish to our post players. We had talked about attacking the basket and just trying to score or get fouled because they were calling a tight game.”
In the fourth quarter, the Stallions wore out the Eagles on both ends of the floor. Paylor set the tone with an acrobatic layup she converted while falling down. The shot put the fans in a frenzy. They continued to get louder when senior guard Inysia McIver gave Southeast Alamance their largest lead up to that point at 48-40.
Paylor said the team was trying to be patient on offense down the stretch and not rush any shots.
“We were trying to slow ourselves down on offense and remember that we had the lead and if they want it, they’ll have to take it,” Paylor said. “We made them work for it by swinging the ball and then keeping them contained on defense.”
The Stallions ultimately held on to win in what is a critical step toward their journey to repeat as Mid-Carolina 4/5/6 champions. Last year, they split the conference championship with Seaford High School, but Sarratt said the team intends to stand alone with that honor.
“We talked before the game about last year and how we were co-conference champions,” Sarratt said. “This year we don’t want to share it, and we have eight games left, so we hope to make those games count.”
The Stallions play the second end of a back-back series of home games against Williams High School on Feb. 14 4:30 p.m.