Top-seeded WCDS girls oust Trinity

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on February 25, 2009 1:46 PM

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Call it conference tournament hangover or perhaps an opponent much more talented than its seeding may suggest.

Whatever the reason, Wayne Country Day's girls trudged through a sluggish 12-minute stretch before finally resembling the state's No. 1-ranked team in a 64-44 thumping of Trinity of Durham in the first round of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 1-A playoffs on Tuesday evening.

The top-seeded Chargers built a quick 7-0 lead, but the 16th-seeded Lions pulled within 13-9 on Kallie Schaefer's 3-pointer. Alana Asay's layup cut the margin to 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Wayne Country Day struggled to identify open shooters defensively. Back-to-back jump shots from Cassy Stafford and Schaefer trimmed the Chargers' lead to 22-19 less than four minutes into the second quarter.

"I think it was a little bit of a hangover coming off an emotional conference tournament championship," said Wayne Country Day head coach Eric Perry said. "It showed, especially in the beginning. We had no intensity in our man-to-man defense. To get to where we need to be we need to improve on that."

Perry expressed his displeasure with his team's defensive effort during a timeout and the result was a 14-4 run to close the half that extended the Chargers' cushion to 36-23. Freshman point guard Catherine Ford scored seven of her-game high 23 points during the outburst.

Ford added six points during a 10-0 spurt early in the third quarter that left the Lions (10-15) facing a 48-28 deficit. Senior center Bridgette Briggs provided 19 points as Trinity struggled to find an answer for Briggs on the interior.

"That's my center and my point guard," said Perry. "Everything we do revolves around those two."

Brooke Norris added 12 points for Wayne Country Day (24-2) and Schaeffer led the Lions with 17.

The Chargers face eighth-seeded Statesville Christian (15-9) in the Elite Eight at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Charlotte Latin School. Wayne Country Day fell in the Elite Eight a year ago.

"The girls realize the intensity of that moment," said Perry. "I think we were young last year with no seniors. This year we're better prepared because we're a more mature team."