Norwayne basketball - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

6 December 2007 – After struggling to find the right combination of players for a few seasons, Norwayne’s girls’ basketball coach Pam Andrews says that the Lady Cobras may have hit their stride this season. And if their early season results are any indication of what’s to come, many would say she’s right.

The girls started off their season this week with a win at Mount Olive Middle on Thursday, and followed up with a second win at home on Monday evening. The wins put the girls at 2-0 for the season and 1-0 for the conference.

Monday night, the girls got off to a big start, outscoring Mount Olive 12-0 in the first period. Mount Olive got moving a little in the following periods, and outscored the Cobras 11-8 in the final period, but an early lead followed by strong defense from Norwayne gave them a big win, finishing the night 38-19.

Imari Howell was the lead scorer for Norwayne with 12 points, while Ivy Hartzell had 10 points and Brooke Bell contributed eight.

The ladies had another big win Monday night, sailing past Rosewood for a 49-18 win. Pressure from the Cobra defense allowed the ladies to score 19 points during the first period while keeping Rosewood from sinking a single goal. The Eagle offense edged in during the second period, scoring seven to Norwayne’s 10, but the Lady Cobras bounced back in the third with 12 points while Rosewood had a single freethrow. Rosewood surged a little in the final period, but it wasn’t enough to top Norwayne, who finished with a 29-point lead.

Howell was again the lead scorer, this time with 13 points. Jenna VanHorn had 10, Courtnei Gilbert had nine, and Bell had seven.

For the Norwayne boys, it may take a little more time for the team to hit their stride. The boys suffered two losses this week.

Thursday night the boys lagged behind Mount Olive 17-11 at the end of the first period, just enough of a gap that they could catch up. But the boys sealed their fate in the following two periods, digging a hole that would prove impossible to get out of. In the second and third periods, Norwayne was outscored 32-10. They regained their footing in the final period, but only tallied half of Mount Olive’s score. They finished the night with a 64-32 loss.

Jalen Williams was Norwayne’s lead scorer with nine points. AJ Mundle had eight, while Bryant Stafford had seven and Kareem Alawar had four.

Though Monday’s match-up also resulted in a loss, the boys’ playing was notably stronger, especially in the second half.

Rosewood led by 10 points at the half, but the Cobras stepped up their game in the latter half, matching the Rosewood effort and outscoring them by one point for the half.
However, the Eagles’ earlier lead entitled them to the win, 41-28.

Mundle was the lead scorer Monday, with 13 points for Norwayne. Stafford had eight points, and Shakel Powell had four.

The Cobras will play again on Monday at Dillard for their second conference match-up of the season.

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Issue of 6 December 2007

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