Kristan Eanes lead the way with 19 points to help Northwood coast to a 71-36 victory over Northern Vance on Senior Night. The Lady Chargers came out on fire, starting the game on a 9-0 run. The Chargers played as if they were a step ahead all night.
“We started off really well,” head coach Cameron Vernon said.
Jazmine Atkins and Eanes combined for 19 out 37 of the Chargers first half total. The Chargers defense was clicking on all cylinders, as steals on the defensive end led to easy buckets on offense. Northwood’s superior defensive effort held Northern Vance to only 15 points in the first half.
In the game, both Shontai Totten (ankle) and Atkins (knee) were injured. Totten’s injury is more serious, as she sat out the majority of the game.
“Shontai has a severely sprained ankle and Jazmine tweaked her knee that she had ACL surgery on,” Vernon said. “Shontai may be out for Friday, but she may bounce back quick and be able to play.”
Tuesday’s win clinched second place in the conference and home court in the conference tournament. As a result of the Chargers’ success, boasting a 20-3 overall record (11-2 conference), they will likely have a first round bye in the state playoffs.Even with the successes of the current season, the Chargers know they need to get better in order to make a deep playoff run.
“We need to work on talking and communicating more,” Eanes said.
Communication and collaboration seems to be a focus point moving forward for the Chargers.
“We can still get better; we need to improve on turnovers and execution going into the playoffs,” Vernon said.
The Chargers visit Southern Durham this Friday at 6 p.m. for their last conference game. The Chargers beat Southern 49-44 in the last meeting.
– By Jailen Leach