Southeast Raleigh falls short in NCHSAA 4A girls basketball championship against Northwest Guilford
Once again, heartbreak met Southeast Raleigh in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A girls basketball championship.
Northwest Guilford took its first lead of the game with 1:09 remaining and held on for the 44-36 victory. It was the second straight year the Vikings topped the Bulldogs in the championship, and the fourth time Southeast Raleigh has been a runner-up in the last five years.
Northwest Guilford is the only team to beat Southeast Raleigh in each of the last two seasons
"Of course this loss is disappointing. However, I am proud of my girls because they fought hard," Southeast coach Nicole Meyers said. "They did everything we asked them to do. They laid it out on the line."
Southeast Raleigh (30-1) led 14-4 at the end of the first quarter, but Northwest Guilford (29-2) closed the gap to 22-18 by halftime. Much like last year, the Vikings found success when the game was slowed down and Northwest won 36-34.
Northwest, which has played in three straight title games, put the contest away at the line, where it was 18 of 23 for the game while Southeast was 6 of 8.
"At the end of the day, when we shoot eight free throws compared to 23 by our opponent, it's a tough thing to get over," Meyers said. "Being that we're an aggressive team that gets to the basket, for us to have eight free throws in the course of a 32-minute game, that is a little baffling to me."
Game MVP Elizabeth Kitley scored 18 points and had eight rebounds for the Vikings. Northwest's Most Outstanding Player, Cayla King, had 15 points (11 of 12 free throws).
Southeast Raleigh's Jada McMillian (11 points) was her team's MOP. Tamia Davis added 11 points and Anya Poole had six points with 13 rebounds.
McMillian is the only senior on the roster and will play at Charlotte next year. She exits with 115 career wins.
"I said ... last year that we were going to be back in this position here in the state championship and I was right about it," McMillian said. "I'm proud of my team and I know they'll get back to it next year."
This story was originally published March 10, 2018 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Southeast Raleigh falls short in NCHSAA 4A girls basketball championship against Northwest Guilford."