It’s Providence! Panthers girls ‘finish’ South Meck win streak, gets share of league crown

The Providence girls’ basketball team has mastered the art of the big finish — at least, when it comes to playing rival South Mecklenburg.

Now, says Providence head coach Jennifer Bean, the Panthers must make that the theme for their whole season.

“We want to finish big,” Bean says.

That’s what the Panthers did Friday night in a 49-38 victory over visiting South Mecklenburg that clinched at least a share of the SoMeck 7 4A Conference title. Providence needs one win in its final three conference games to win the title outright.

Providence (18-2, 9-0) outscored the Sabres (14-4, 6-3) by an 18-10 margin in the fourth quarter Friday. In the teams’ first meeting, on Dec. 19, Providence edged the Sabres 46-42 behind a 20-9 fourth-quarter surge.

“We tend to tire out the other team,” Bean says. “We’re a fast-paced team, and the girls are well-conditioned.”

That brings up the subject of the rest of the season. A year ago, the Panthers were cruising along with a 20-3 record. Then they lost their regular-season finale, to South Mecklenburg. That was followed by an upset loss to Berry Academy in the conference tournament — and then another loss to Berry in the first round of the state playoffs.

Bean says last year’s finish is “a bad memory,” and she says her team wants to avoid a repeat this winter.

Providence is 18-0 this year against teams not from Cabarrus County. The Panthers came out of the Christmas break with back-to-back losses to Hickory Ridge and Central Cabarrus.

Bean finds some solace from that.

“Last year, those losses came at the end of the season,” she says. “This year, they came earlier. They might have been good for us. There was no overconfidence. Losing those two games has helped us in the second half of the conference season.”

South Mecklenburg hung with the Panthers into the fourth quarter, trailing 35-33 with six minutes left after a basket by Senali Moss. But Providence then went on a 10-3 run, capped by Nyla McGill’s layup with two minutes left. South Mecklenburg went 0-for-5 from the floor and was outrebounded 5-1 in that stretch.

“Finishing strong is what we like to do,” Bean says.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Nyla McGill, Providence: A junior point guard, McGill scored a game-high 19 points, making 9-of-12 from the foul line. She also had seven rebounds, six steals and five assists.

Senali Moss, South Mecklenburg: A 5-7 sophomore guard, Moss is the engine that runs the Sabres’ attack. She scored 16 points Friday and attacked the basket relentlessly, which resulted in Moss taking 14 of the 16 free throws that her team got.

Eva Butler, Providence: Butler scored only two points, but Bean said she spent most of the night defending Moss, who was held to 4-of-14 shooting from the floor.

WORTH MENTIONING

▪ The teams combined for 29 fouls, and it was a rugged game. The Panthers hit 17-of-24 foul shots, to 8-of-16 for the Sabres.

▪ Providence’s defensive pressure seemed to make a difference in the second half. After committing just five first-half turnovers, the Sabres lost the ball 10 times in the second half.

▪ The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for South Mecklenburg. The Sabres hadn’t lost since their Dec. 19 home setback against Providence.

THEY SAID IT

“The No. 1 goal for us is to win the conference, because that can help give us a good seeding in the state playoffs.” -- Providence coach Jennifer Bean.

WHAT’S NEXT

South Mecklenburg plays next Tuesday at Harding. Providence is off until next Friday, when the Panthers host Harding.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

PROVIDENCE - 12 8 11 18= 49

SOUTH MECK - 11 9 8 10 = 38

PHS: Nyla McGill 19, Amari Davis 20, Cameron Mulkey 4, Eva Butler 2, Marlow Chapman 4

SMHS: Moss 16, Houpt 2, Brown 3, Ndango 2, Miller 4, Alexander 3, Feit 8

Records: Providence 18-2 (9-0 in SoMeck 7)

Elevator

↑Frank Cantadore, First Assembly: won his 20th game in Thursday’s 74-61 win over The Burlingotn School. Garrett Hien had 25 points, six rebounds in the win. Trae Benham added 23 points, six rebounds. Friday, Cantadore got No. 201 in a 74-38 win over SouthLake that locked up a second straight conference title and delivered the school’s first 30-win season. First Assembly has won 14 straight.

↑Central Cabarrus’ dynamic duo: The Central girls beat JM Robinson 64-46 to improve to 15-5. Aniyah Tate (20 points, eight rebounds) and Jael Miller (19 points, seven assists) had monster games.

↑Butler girls: beat previously (conference) unbeaten Myers Park 46-41 to tie for first place in league play with four games remaining.

↑Tachai Miller, Independence: 10 steals in a 83-65 win over Porter Ridge. Miller also had nine points, seven assists and three rebounds.

↑Lincoln Charter: beat Highland Tech 69-43 to win its sixth straight conference championship. Sam Cogan had 16.

↓Fight in the stands: a fight in the stands temporarily suspended Friday’s Butler-Myers Park game.

The Best Things I heard About Friday

▪ Sweet 16 No. 3 Mallard Creek’s girls beat West Charlotte 73-55 despite a brilliant performance from Lions star Kamiah Moore, who had a game-high 30. Wake Forest recruit Neveah Brown had 12 assists and three steals for the Mavericks, who got seven made 3s and 25 points from senior guard Lauren Walker.

▪ Providence Day’s girls beat Cannon School 57-48 Friday to win at least a share of its 15th CISAA conference championship in 16 years. Nina-Simone Clark led the Chargers (19-6) with 10 points. Reigan Richardson had 29 for Cannon.

▪ North Meck’s Jessica Timmons remains uber-consisnt. She had 27 points, eight rebounds, five assists an five steals in a 52-47 win over Hopewell, showing -- again -- why she was the Charlotte Observer’s midseason player of the year.

↑Vance High’s Kyanna Morgan scored her 1,000th point in a 55-24 win over Mooresville. She finished with 27 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals.

↑Vance High’s Daniel Ransom had 17 points, 13 rebounds in a 97-53 win over Mooresville. It was his 11th double-double in 21 games. Teammate Daniel Sanford had 25 points, six rebounds.

▪ Hough completed the season sweep of rival Lake Norman, winning 60-45 Friday. Senior Nate Chambers had 10 points, 11 rebounds. Sophomore Graham Worland had 13 points, eight rebounds and senior Beau Maye had 11 points, eight rebounds for Hough (15-5, 7-3).

▪ North Meck, No. 1 in the Sweet 16, found itself tied with Hopewell going into the fourth quarter. In a week when the Vikings faced adversity, potentially losing their second best player for the season, they rallied for a win to keep an unbeaten conference season going.

▪ Fast improving Covenant Day took Charlotte Latin to OT before falling 69-61. The game featured two of Charlotte’s best point guards. Latin’s Randy Johnson, a Holy Cross recruit, had 26 points. Covenant Day freshman Aden Holloway had 27 points.

▪ Charlotte Catholic’s Dane Bertolina had 26 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in a 58-34 win over Weddington. Teammate Telfair Epperson had 10 points, six rebounds, two assists.

Friday’s #BIG5 Girls Top Performers

Kenzley Dunlap, Forestview: 23 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals in a 56-51 win over North Gaston. North’s Dorianna Good had 33 points.

Riley Haas, East Burke: game-high 30 points in an 84-57 win over Fred T. Foard. Foard’s Alex Wolgemuth had 27 points.

Michaela Lane, Payton Sutton, Butler: In a 46-41 win over Myers Park that tied the Bulldogs with Myers Park for first place, Lane had 10 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks. Sutton had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Taylor Henderson (15 points) led Myers Park.

Assiyah Mitchell, United Faith: career-high 35 points in a 87-17 win over United Faith.

Saniya Wilson, Kings Mountain: 35 points, 11 rebounds, six steals, four assists in a 78-59 win over Hunter Huss. Wilson, a sophomore, now has more than 1,000 career points. She earned 328 as an eighth grader at Gaston Day.

Friday’s #BIG5 Boys Top Performers

Donovan Atwell, Lake Norman Charter: sophomore had 24 points in a 61-52 win over Maiden. He made six 3-point shots.

Lloyd Glenn, Charlotte Christian: On Senior Night, Glenn scored 11 of his 14 points in the first quarter, when Christian outscored Country Day 29-11 en route on an easy 79-63 win. Glenn averages 1.4 points per game. All four Christian seniors scored in double digits: Glenn, Peter Lash (16 points, 12 rebounds), Logan Jones (15 points, five rebounds, three assists) and Luke Drees (12 points, three assists).

Xavier McKelvy, Myers Park: game-high 25 points in a 62-54 win over Butler that knocked Butler out of a shot at first place in the Southwestern 4A. Butler, which got 23 points, 12 rebounds from 7-foot sophomore center Patrick Wessler, is 6-3 in league play. First place Myers Park (7-2) is tied with Hickory Ridge and Independence.

Cade Tyson, Piedmont: sophomore had 34 points, 12 rebounds in a 59-53 overtime win over Cuthbertson.

Nygell Verdier, Independence: 25 points, eight rebounds, three steals in a 83-65 win over Porter Ridge. Independence improved to 13-7.

Charlotte Catholic gets biggest win of season, stops Weddington

The Charlotte Catholic Cougars picked up arguably their biggest win of the season on Friday, defeating Weddington 92-77 inside a packed house at Charlotte Catholic High School. With the victory, Charlotte Catholic and Weddington are now tied at the top of the Southern Carolina 3A conference with 10-1 records. Charlotte Catholic also extended its winning streak to nine games.

Weddington jumped out to a 19-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, as the team’s leading scorer of the night, Kyle Frazier, scored 11 of the Warriors 19 first quarter points. Frazier finished with 23.

However, the momentum completely shifted in the second quarter, as the Cougars outscored the Warriors 22-12. Colin Thomas was a difference maker in the quarter, scoring 13 of his 22 points as he constantly drove to the lane and drew contact to get to the free throw line. The Cougars went into halftime with a 37-31 lead thanks to the contributions from Thomas.

David Pino took over in the second half for the Cougars, scoring 16 of his team-leading 23 points in the final two quarters. Like Thomas, Pino was aggressive getting to the line and knocking down shots at the free throw line. At the end of the third quarter, the Cougars were up 62-46 and pulled away in the fourth quarter.

“The good teams need to be playing really well at this time of the season and you need to be bringing it every night,” said Charlotte Catholic Head Coach Mike King. “We have started playing really well and I’m pleased where we are right now. The effort level and energy level is fantastic.”

RECORDS: Charlotte Catholic (16-3, 10-1 Southern Carolina 3A conference); Weddington (15-6, 10-1 Southern Carolina 3A conference)

THREE WHO MATTERED

• David Pino (Charlotte Catholic): Pino was the top scorer for Catholic on Friday, leading the team with 23 points

• Colin Thomas (Charlotte Catholic): The junior guard helped provide a solid 1-2 punch with Pino on Friday, finishing the game with 22 points

• Kyle Frazier (Weddington): Frazier paced the Weddington offense with 23 points, scoring 15 of his 23 points from three point range.

WORTH MENTIONING (include girls score)

• On the girls side, Charlotte Catholic defeated Weddington 58-34.

• The loss on Friday snapped a six-game winning streak for Weddington

THEY SAID IT

“Weddington shoots the ball really well and we talked about contesting each shot. Rebounding is the key thing playing a team like that because if there is a rebound it’s typically a long rebound which alongs for some quick transition points and that’s really what happened tonight. We were able to convert those transition opportunities and carry the momentum through most of the game.”

Mike King, Charlotte Catholic Head Coach

WHAT’S NEXT?

Charlotte Catholic will travel to play the Sun Valley Spartans on Tuesday (2/4); Weddington will host Marvin Ridge on Tuesday (2/4).

CCHS 15 22 25 . 30-- 92

WHS 19 12 . 15 . 31-- 77

CCHS- David Pino 23, Colin Thomas 21, Kevin Dumser 13, Kevin Kullick 10, Jack Dortch 11, Kevin McArdle 10, Teal 2, Hanchard 1

WHS- Kyle Frazier 23, Chase Lowe 14, Caleb Weatherbee 10, Morton 8, Bowen 6, Cook 3, Van Gundy 6, McGee 3, Juhl 4

-- Correspondent Jake Spriggs

How The Boys Sweet 16 Fared

Friday’s Boys Scores

Ardrey Kell 80, West Mecklenburg 63

Cannon School 65, Providence Day 49

Charlotte Catholic 92, Weddington 77

Charlotte Christian 79, Charlotte Country Day 63

Charlotte Latin 69, Covenant Day 61, OT

Concord 78, AL Brown 66

Cox Mill 86, NW Cabarrus 64

East Burke 65, Fred T. Foard 48

East Lincoln 64, North Lincoln 62

First Assembly 74, SouthLake Christian 38

Forest Hills 82, Montgomery Central 43

Gaston Day 60, Northside Christian 23

Hickory Grove 87, Metrolina Christian 64

Hickory Ridge 67, Rocky River 52

Hough 60, Lake Norman 45

Hunter Huss 92, Kings Mountain 72

Independence 83, Porter Ridge 65

Lake Norman Charter 61, Maiden 52

Lincoln Charter 69, Highland Tech 43

Lincolnton 65, Bandys 58

Myers Park 62, Butler 54

Northside Christian 61, Gaston Day 35

Olympic 58, Berry 55

Piedmont 59, Cuthbertson 53, OT

Shelby 90, Chase 56

South Stanly 84, South Davidson 74

Sun Valley 65, Monroe 54

Vance 97, Mooresville 53

Victory Christian 69, United Faith 64

West Caldwell 89, Draughn 64

THURSDAY

Charlotte Christian 62, Metrolina Christian 53

First Assembly 74, The Burlington School 61

Pine Lake Prep 69, Queens Grant 56

How the girls Sweet 16 fared

Friday’s Girls Scores

AL Brown 51, Concord 45

Anson 48, Mount Pleasant 33

Bandys 49, Lincolnton 17

Butler 46, Myers Park 41

Central Cabarrus 64, JM Robinson 46

Charlotte Catholic 58, Weddington 34

Charlotte Country Day 58, Charlotte Christian 35

Charlotte Latin 40, Covenant Day 29

Community School of Davidson 56, Bradford Prep 24

Cuthbertson 51, Piedmont 42

East Burke 84, Fred T. Foard 57

East Lincoln 60, North Lincoln 52

First Assembly 78, SouthLake Chrisitan 12

Forestview 56, North Gaston 51

Hickory Ridge 59, Rocky RIver 44

Kings Mountain 79, Hunter Huss 59

Lake Norman 61, Hough 39

Maiden 60, Lake Norman Charter 41

Mallard Creek 73, West Charlotte 55

North Mecklenburg 52, Hopewell 47

Providence 49, South Mecklenburg 38

Providence Day 57, Cannon School 48

Salisbury 48, Oak Grove 22

Shelby 84, Chase 14

Uwharrie Charter 49, North Stanly 41

Vance 55, Mooresville 24

Victory Christian 87, United Faith 17

West Davidson 59, South Rowan 47

West Rowan 58, East Rowan 51 OT

THURSDAY

First Assembly 61, Burlington 44

Legacy Early College 65, Comenius 43

Saturday’s Schedule

Combine Academy, Moravian Prep in Phenom Hoops Classic, at Hargrave Military (VA)

Great Falls at Camden Military

Rabun Gap (GA)-Nacoochee at Covenant Day

SUNDAY, FEB. 2

Combine Academy, Moravian Prep in Phenom Hoops Classic, at Hargrave Military (VA)