Corinth Holders girls work their way by West Johnston
Corinth Holders didn’t play up to the standards Coach Brandy Smith wanted on Tuesday night, but they were good enough to hold off a scrappy West Johnston team.
Maddy Gladwell had 15 points while Shaniya Taylor chipped in nine with 10 rebounds as the Pirates topped their visiting county rivals 48-41.
The result improved the Pirates to 3-1, while West fell to 1-3.
“I just want to play consistent,” Corinth Holders coach Brandy Smith said. “And we didn’t play the way we’re able to play. Some wins you can’t celebrate because you didn’t do them the right play. We went nine-for-25 from the free-throw line and we scored one point in the second quarter.”
The Pirates won despite a game-high 25 points by West guard Christian Sanders. Nadia Blevins added 10 points for the Wildcats.
They said it
“We did everything we had practiced,” West coach Laura Jefferson said. “We knew they were a sound team with a big post player (junior Melanie Tola). We have no real post player. And we finished the game with three freshmen on the floor. I told them after the game we have things we have to work on. We just need to learn to talk on defense.”
Turning point
After leading 27-22 following a hotly contested third quarter, the Pirates went on a 14-2 run for their biggest lead of the game at 41-24.
Three who mattered
Maddy Gladwell, Corinth Holders: The senior guard led the winners with 15 points.
“As a team we didn’t play to the level we can play,” Gladwell said. “We let them dictate the way we were playing and that shouldn’t have happened. And they didn’t quit when they were behind.”
Christian Sanders, West Johnston: The senior guard led all scorers with 25 points.
“We knew they were going to be a hard team,” Sanders said. “They were pushing up on teams, and we were prepared for that. I feel like we were very patient. What kept us in the first half was playing our game and not letting them speed us up.”
Shaniya Taylor, Corinth Holders: The junior forward had nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
By the numbers
1: Corinth Holders point in the second quarter.
6: Rebounds for the Pirates’ Melanie Tola.
8: Rebounds for Corinth Holders’ Shanan Hester.
10: Points for Blevins.
17: Corinth Holders’ biggest lead at 41-24.
25: Points for Sanders.
Looking ahead
Corinth Holders visits Wilson Fike on Friday night in the first of five straight road games before hosting Fike on Dec. 18.
West hosts Cleveland on Friday night before squaring off with Rolesville in the Greater Neuse River 4A on Dec. 8.
This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Corinth Holders girls work their way by West Johnston."