Western Alamance at Providence Grove

[Chute Boxe Hero]

Got to check out my "sidepiece" for the first time this season. The Patriots and the Warriors made like a tree and split last night.

Girls game was pretty much over when I walked in the building. WA held a 42-20 lead towards the end of the second quarter and cruised from there. The WA ladies are a solid team. They're well-balanced and play very well together. They also have a very solid PG in senior Allie Sykes. She is really fun to watch. She's the Warriors "John Stockton". I would love to see her get an invite to the East-West game next July.

PG's not bad. They just got outclassed. They did lose two key players and their coach from last year. However, the Lady Pats still play really hard. I get to watch Mailey Way be an on-ball terror on defense for one more year. My prediction is that the Patriots will finish fifth in conference.

 

[Chute Boxe Hero]

The guys game was the ole "Tale of Two Halves". PG had a 30-20 lead at the half. The Pats were handling WA's pressure well. Towards the middle of the third, WA switched to a quicker lineup and it paid dividends. Their pressure forced a slew of PG turnovers which led to a slew of fast easy buckets. PG went from handling the press to looking like a team that had never seen one in their lives. The Warriors rattled off about 15-17 unanswered points. Ended up winning 64-56. Freshman Drew Cohn was outstanding in the second half. The Warrior on-ball pressure on PG' point guard was excellent.

The Patriots could have a fairly decent year. I still don't see how they played South Stokes to within 12. They will have to handle that full court pressure better than they did last night though. I think they could finish anywhere from fourth to last in their conference.