Chargers down Cape Fear

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on December 27, 2008 11:16 PM

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Wayne Country Day girls basketball coach Eric Perry is interested in a lot more than winning ugly or simply getting by.

Perry's Chargers defeated Cape Fear Christian 53-41 on the second day of the Charger Christmas Classic on Saturday. However, Perry saw his team lose focus after halftime, finish the game with 31 turnovers and at times fail to resemble the state's No. 2 ranked squad.

Trailing 36-13 at the half, Cape Fear outscored Wayne Country Day 28-17 over the final two quarters.

"The girls were doing things they wanted to do and not necessarily things they were coached to do," Perry said. "Our offensive spacing was horrible and we were forcing passes. Instead of playing like we practice we're playing like we're trying to prove we're the No. 2 team in the state."

Despite the sloppy second half Perry had plenty to be pleased with. Wayne Country Day forced 22 turnovers, held a 34-17 advantage in rebounding and got double-digit scoring performances from Brooke Norris, Catherine Ford and Mack Thompson.

Norris scored a team-high 14 points including 13 in the second quarter. Ford added 12 and Thompson had 11.

"Catherine played well, especially in transition," Perry said. "You're not going to find a better freshman point guard than Catherine. Brooke had a confidence in her shot today. The last couple of games she hasn't shot when she's been open. I was pleased with her today."

Norris' free throw early in the first quarter ignited a 14-5 run that was fueled by the Chargers (12-1) ability to force turnovers and score in transition. Cape Fear coughed the ball up seven times in the first quarter and trailed 16-7 after the first eight minutes.

"That was really big because we really didn't play as well as we would have liked to in the half court," Perry said. "We're rounding it into where we want to be in our half court set, but we have work to do. Our defense really stepped up."

Norris scored the first five points of the second quarter and knocked down three 3-pointers during the period.

Anna Tart's free throws pulled Cape Fear to within 21-12 before Wayne Country Day rattled off 11 unanswered points to push its advantage to 32-12 late in the first half.

Keasha Cameron scored a game-high 20 points for Cape Fear.

The Chargers host Waccamaw at 6 p.m. on Jan. 6.