The Newton County Academy Lady Generals qualified for the Class 3A state tournament last week.
The Lady Generals opened with a 48-30 win over Porter’s Chapel in the opening round game at Kemper Academy. NCA then lost 56-29 to Marvell and 38-37 to Greenville Christian to finish fourth in the tournament.
The NCA boys lost their first-round game as they dropped a 56-49 decision to Delta Streets.
The NCA girls advance to the Class 3A Tournament and will play South No. 1 seed Wilkinson County Christian on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
NCA girls 48, Porter’s Chapel 30
The Lady Generals overcame a slow start and pulled away to take an 18-point win in the opening round.
Porter’s Chapel jumped out to a 13-9 lead in the first but NCA answered and took the second period 11-8 to cut the lead to 21-20 at the half. NCA then outscored Porter’s Chapel 19-5 in the third and 9-4 in the fourth.
Cayden Alexander led NCA with 21 points while Lilly Hollingsworth had 16 points and Emme Reese chipped in five points.
Marvell girls 56, NCA 29
The Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Generals in every period as they took a 27-point win in the tournament semifinals on Friday.
Marvell led 11-7 at the end of the first and then outscored NCA 10-7 to lead 21-14 at the half. Marvell continued to extend its lead as they outscored NCA 14-4 in the third and 21-11 in the fourth.
Lilly Hollingsworth led NCA with 14 points while Cayden Alexander and Emme Reese each had five points apiece.
Greenville Christian girls 38, NCA 37
The Lady Generals were unable to hold onto an early lead as the Lady Saints took a one-point win in the consolation game on Saturday.
NCA jumped out to a 16-8 lead in the first period and then outscored Greenville 11-7 to lead 27-15 at the half. Greenville then fought back and outscored NCA 14-4 to cut the lead to 31-29 going to the fourth. Greenville took the fourth period 9-6 for the final margin.
Lilly Hollingsworth led NCA with 10 points while Macie Woodham and Madline Vance each had nine points apiece. Cayden Alexander also chipped in six points.
Delta Streets boys 56, NCA 46
The Lions pulled away in the middle two periods to take a 10-point win over the Generals on Tuesday and end their season.
NCA led 12-8 at the end of the first before Delta outscored the Generals 12-4 in the second to lead 20-16 at the half. Delta then outscored NCA 18-12 in the third to extend the lead to 38-28 and each team scored 18 points in the fourth for the final margin.
“The season didn’t end like we wanted but I’m extremely proud of this group’s fight,” NCA coach Tanner Smith said. “They stayed together through some tough times and got better when you are post to at the end of the season. I will miss our two seniors (Leyton Porter and Trace Evans) but I’m looking forward to next year’s group.”
Jackson Bunyard led NCA with 22 points while Trace Evans had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
