BASKETBALL: Neuse Christian girls dominate Chargers

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on November 16, 2016 9:57 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

Wayne Country Day head coach David Flowers told his players there would be tough teams on the upcoming schedule.

The Chargers understood that Flowers wasn't exaggerating.

He might have undersold it, actually.

Neuse Christian used its immense talent and advantageous size to hand Wayne Country Day a 79-36 defeat.

The Lions boasted three highly-touted Brazilian players -- Izabela Nicoletti, Maria Albiero and Izabel De Angelo. Nicoletti, according to ESPN, is ranked as the nation's third-best player in the Class of 2018. Albeiro, who has committed to BYU, is the 23rd-best point guard in the Class of 2017.

De Angelo is among the top-rated post players in the Class of 2019.

"(The players) didn't know how good they were," Flowers said. "But I told them, 'You're going to play talent tonight.' I've told the girls, 'You're going to play competition.' And that's what we want."

The score remained close in the opening minutes. The Chargers ended the first quarter on a 7-3 run and whittled the Lions' lead to 17-13.

Then the Brazilians slammed their foot on the gas pedal. Neuse Christian outscored WCDS 30-8 in the second quarter behind Nicoletti and Albeiro, who combined for 19 points.

The lead was as large as 47 in the second half. The Chargers were held to just 15 points in the final two quarters.

"We competed at first," Flowers said. "They fought hard, it's just Jala (Holloman) got in foul trouble and we started turning the ball over. So we have to work on that -- work on getting better at the fundamentals."

WCDS' Lexi Jeffreys finished with a team-high 19 points. Holloman added eight points. Neuse Christian's Albiero tallied 20 points, Nicoletti poured in 17 and De Angelo scored six.

Flowers said he's never going to take a player out if a shot is missed or if the ball is turned over. He only will take them out if they quit. He added that he wants the girls to play through the pressure and improve with each game.

"I want the girls to see what it takes to get there," Flowers said. "And so, you have to play these good teams. If you get beat bad, you get beat bad. But you have to get better. Just compete and get better every time."