4A Women’s Basketball Championship:Strong effort from Kitley and King gives Northwest Guilford a 36-34 win over SE Raleigh and school’s first title

RALEIGH, N.C. – Northwest Guilford is used to close scoring big games, and the experience paid off as the Vikings held off Southeast Raleigh for a hard-fought 36-34 victory. The win was the first state championship victory for the Vikings Women’s Basketball program.

Tamia Davis had a stick-back two with 13 seconds remaining to draw Southeast Raleigh within two late, but the Bulldogs couldn’t get the bucket to tie or take the lead on the final possession as a shot from Tamia Hicks fell short at the final horn.

The two teams battled hard defensively, as Southeast Raleigh outscored Northwest 14-9 in the second quarter to take a five-point lead. Northwest flipped the script in the third, as the Vikings knotted the score up headed to the final frame by outscoring the Bulldogs 9-4 in the third.

Sophomore Elizabeth Kitley had a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds helping her to be named the Kay Yow Most Valuable Player of the game. Her ten rebounds helped give Northwest a 35-30 advantage on the glass.

Cayla King was named Northwest Guilford’s Most Outstanding Player and was the only other Viking in double figures with 16 points. She was 11 of 12 from the free throw line and had seven rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.

Southeast Raleigh was led by Tamia Hicks who scored 13 points to lead the Bulldogs while grabbing four rebounds and blocking three shots. Hicks was named the Bulldogs Most Outstanding Player. Jada McMillian was the only other Southeast Raleigh player in double digits with 12 points on the day.

The Bulldogs finished the year at 32-1 and were 14-0 in the Greater Neuse River 4A Conference where they were the champions for the ninth year in a row. They won the school’s fourth Eastern Regional Championship this year.

Northwest Guilford finished the season 30-2 on the year, winners of the Piedmont Triad 4A Conference where they were a perfect 10-0. The Vikings won the Western Regional final for the second straight year and grabbed their first state championship in Women’s Basketball with the victory.

FINAL BOX SCORE

GAME PLAY-BY-PLAY

The game can be heard on GreensboroSports Radio Stream 2 through March 17, 2017.

One thought on “4A Women’s Basketball Championship:Strong effort from Kitley and King gives Northwest Guilford a 36-34 win over SE Raleigh and school’s first title

  1. Epic defensive battle between the two best teams in the tournament. NWG off to a quick start, but SE Raleigh’s athleticism got them back into the game. Back and forth, Kitley intimidating inside, King having to deal with more pressure then she is used to. Driving and dishing to Kitley caused headaches for SE. Officiating played a much bigger role than it should have. Inconsistent calls confused both squads. Felt Kitley’s third foul was a phantom call, forcing her to sit the last two plus minutes of the first half completely changed the game’s dynamic and gave SE the boost they needed to fight back into the game. Coach Joyner and her staff truly out coached the SE squad. Loved NW’s defensive move to a 2-3 zone in the second half. SE did not have an answer. Kitley played very well with three fouls. King was a beast with ice in her veins as she knocked down free throw after free throw. Down to the wire, not sure why NW did not have King (instead of Gauldin) throwing the ball down court with 3 seconds to go… Poor decision to inbound into the corner. NW got robbed on the out of bounds call. Ball was clearly knocked out by defending SE player, but official called it out on NW. (Watched the tape when I got home, yep, out on SE.) But Kitley’s presence in the paint was just too much for SE. Can’t remember a girl’s team that had to beat so many great teams in one tourney… Congrats to the Lady Vikings on a great season and amazing tournament.

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