Lady Crusaders earn spot in NCISAA 3A final
Feb. 22—Years from now, when the best high school women's basketball team that ever graced, and likely ever will grace, Lee County is remembered, their final home appearance might sum up just what the 2022-24 Grace Christian Lady Crusaders were all about.
Grace put a lid on the 2023-24 basketball season at Torgerson Gym Tuesday night, overcoming a lackluster first half with a strong second, and one more virtuoso performance from star Sarah Strong as they danced—literally—into their third straight NCISAA state championship game with an 83-51 win over Concord Academy.
The Lady Crusaders (29-0), the top-ranked team in North Carolina at any level and the 18th-ranked team in the nation according to ESPN, will play for the NCISAA 3A title Saturday at 4 p.m. against High Point Christian (22-4), the third seed in the bracket. The Cougars earned their spot in the final with a 46-41 win over Greensboro Day in the other semifinal.
Grace, which had routed Concord (20-4) by 44 points back in January, jumped out to a 15-3 lead after one quarter, but were then stuck in neutral for the next quarter and a half. The Lady Crusaders committed too many turnovers and struggled to finish around the rim. While no one thought Grace might lose the game—its lead never dropped under 11 after the opening period—they were seemingly unable to deliver the knockout blow on the Eagles.
Grace led by as many as 18 in the second quarter, but the visitors, ranked fourth among NCISAA 3A teams, stayed in the game thanks to four 3-pointers in the final 3:20 of the first half, two by senior guard Sam Meyers and the other two from precocious 6'1" eighth-grader Justice Alexander, a player to watch in years to come. Meyers' trey right before the buzzer made it 34-21 at the half.
Grace did face some adversity in the third quarter, which saw Icyss Storm and Halisi Whitley both face some foul trouble. However, Strong, who was every bit living up to her name while some of her teammates were struggling, stayed on the attack and made three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Toni Hughes, in only her second game back, came in and contributed quality minutes, and the Lady Crusaders finally broke it open late in the quarter. The highlight came when Serenity McNair drove into the paint and threw a bullet pass to Isa Roman in the corner. Roman got her shot off despite being hacked and nailed it, then completed a four-point play for a 52-28 lead.
It was 55-31 after three, and Hughes opened the fourth with a 3-pointer from the corner. Grace led by as many as 35 in the final quarter, but the highlight of the fourth may have come during a prolonged break in the action with 6:28 to play, with the Lady Crusaders up 60-33. The sound system struck up some music, and the entire Grace team, in a game with a spot in the state championship game on the line, broke into an impromptu dance routine on the floor while waiting for the action to resume.
When play resumed, McNair and Whitley went off for more treys and the Lady Crusaders will be dancing all the way to North Raleigh Christian School on Saturday afternoon in search of a three-peat and a perfect season.
Strong led everyone with 32 points, 30 of which came in the first three quarters. Icyss Storm added 14 and Whitley 13, McNair seven, Roman and Lindholm six each, and Hughes five. Alexander had 22 and Meyers 17 for Concord.
