The Northern Guilford girls basketball team made a push in the fourth quarter to close out a 62-52 win over Terry Sanford in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 6A state championship game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem on Thursday afternoon.
Northern Guilford had a small lead for much of the first half. The Nightakws scored the first four points of the game, their largest lead of the half. But Jaidiah Blake hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game 13-13.
Blake had a big first half for Terry Sanford, scoring 14 points, including six in the second quarter, where the Bulldogs outscored the Nighthawks 15-10 to take a 28-23 lead into halftime.
The lead wasn’t enough to keep Northern Guilford down though. Leena McField drove to the basket and banked a layup off the glass as time expired in the third quarter, giving the Nighthawks a 43-41 lead.
That sparked a fourth-quarter run for Northern Guilford. The Nighthawks led by eight points midway through the fourth quarter, and free throws down the stretch extended that lead to as many as 12 points.
McField led Northern Guilford with 24 points, seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists, earning Most Valuable Player honors.
Aliyah Settle added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Nighthawks. Settle was named the Most Outstanding Player of the West team. Anaya Pearley scored 14 points, rounding out the double-digit scorers for Northern Guilford.
Terry Sanford was led by Blake’s 21 pounds and 10 rebounds, earning the Most Outstanding Player award for the East team. Alani-Skye Wilkerson added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Northern Guilford finishes the season with a 27-4 overall record, which includes a TAAC Six Conference championship. Terry Sanford won the Tri-County Conference and finishes with a record of 22-7.
This is the third state championship in school history for Northern Guilford. The Nighthawks won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. It was the fourth appearance in a state championship for the Northern Guilford girls basketball team.
Thursday marked the fifth time Terry Sanford has appeared in the girls basketball state championship game. The Bulldogs have finished as the runner-up in each appearance.
Scoring Summary
TSAN — 13 – 15 – 13 – 11 — 52
NGLF — 13 – 10 – 20 – 19 — 62
Northern Guilford: Leena McField 24, Aliyah Settle 16, Anaya Pearley 14, Georgia Lewis 8.
Terry Sanford: Jaidiah Blake 21, Alani-Skye Wilkerson 13, Ameya Brown 8, Neiylah Marcelin 4, Amya Harrington 4, Zaniya Reddick 2.
