The NCHSAA basketball playoffs began earlier this week across the state, but nobody is feeling more pressure locally than Westover’s boys and Cape Fear’s girls.
That’s because when the pre-tournament seeds were first posted, those two schools were at the top of the local heap among Fayetteville qualifiers in the 3-A bracket.
For the boys, Westover is No. 2 in the East, landing just one notch below top-seeded Swansboro. Meanwhile, Cape Fear’s girls edged out county rival Terry Sanford, Cape Fear earning No. 2 while Terry Sanford is No. 3.
The No. 1 seed for the 3-A East girls went to South Central near Greenville.
Both Westover boys and Cape Fear girls scored one-sided wins in their first-round games on Tuesday and face home matchups in tonight’s second round.
Wilson Hunt heads to Westover while Cape Fear will be at home against Eastern Alamance.
Westover and Cape Fear are also riding hot streaks entering tonight’s action. Westover extended its run to 20 in a row and hasn’t lost a game in 2024.
Cape Fear hasn’t lost since mid-January and has won 16 in a row.
Wolverine head coach George Stackhouse felt at one point in the season his team had lost focus. “We had experienced a lot of success,’’ he said. “Sometimes you take your eyes off the details.’’
The final two weeks of the season, Stackhouse said his players went back to the basics of the early season. “As long as we continue to pay attention to those details, the small things, we’ve got a good chance.’’
Another reason the Wolverines have a good chance is the continued solid play of Ari Fulton, who recently was selected to play in the Carolinas Classic All-Star game pitting the top seniors of North and South Carolina against each other.
According to the latest statistics from MaxPreps, Fulton leads the Wolverines in scoring and rebounding with 19.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Stackhouse said Fulton is widely considered one of the best players in the state, and since North Carolina is often referred to as the Hoop State, he added that’s a major accomplishment.
“There are a lot of times a kid with that kind of talent will take plays off,’’ Stackhouse said. “This kid never takes a play off. He’s probably one of the best players I’ve ever coached, taught or been around.’’
Fulton said the key to Westover’s success this season has been discipline on offense and defense. “If we’re not disciplined offensively or defensively we’re not going to be a success,’’ he said.
Westover’s high seed is important because of the homecourt advantage it gives them.
“We don’t want to go on the road and an environment we’re not used to,’’ Fulton said. “It’s win or go home.’’
The key to winning a state title, according to Fulton, will be having high energy on both ends of the court the rest of the way. “Staying active and having the mindset we have to go into every game and dominate,’’ he said.
Cape Fear’s girls have used a similar formula in their pursuit of success this season. Head coach Brian Graham said his Colts are an experienced unit, with some of the players tracing their time on the court together back to their days in recreation basketball.
“Our chemistry is a big thing,’’ he said. “Our speed is our advantage, and our athleticism.’’
So is the incredible scoring ability of Colt standout Jayda Angel. At last report from MaxPreps, Angel is the top female scorer in North Carolina with a 33.7 points per game average. She’ll also be joining Westover’s Fulton at the Carolinas Classic as a member of the North Carolina girls’ team.
Graham said Angel’s work ethic has gotten her where she is, from offseason practice to sessions with a personal trainer. “She’s always trying to get into the gym,’’ he said.
At the same time, teams keep trying to find ways to slow her down, and Graham feels pretty confident the Colts have seen just about everything, from double teams to box-and-one and beyond.
“This year her teammates have done a good job of making teams pay for leaving her open,’’ Graham said. “I’m not really concerned what teams are going to try and throw at her. I think we’ve got to respond, see what they are trying to do and adjust to it.’’
Graham added it’s up to the Colts to dictate the style of play and use their running game and defense to ignite the Cape Fear offense.
Angel said since the January loss to North Pitt, Cape Fear has improved its mental game.
“We watched film, picked up the pieces and realized playing as a team was going to get us further,’’ she said.
Now the challenge is coping with playoff pressure and adjusting to attempts by the opposition to get into Angel’s head.
She said she’s working on finishing moves with contact and getting in more repetitions daily, not taking any days off.
“Defense is going to take us all the way,’’ she said.
One thing Westover and Cape Fear are both hoping for is a chance to experience the dramatically different format for the final week of the NCHSAA basketball season.
After holding regional and state championship games at different locations for years, the NCHSAA did a major overhaul for this year’s final rounds.
Both the regional and state championship rounds will be held the week of March 11-16, all games at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem. Monday through Thursday of that week regional play will begin at 2 p.m. each day, four games a day.
Friday and Saturday the state finals will be held for all classifications. Friday games will be at 1, 3:30, 6 and 8:30 and Saturday games at noon, 2:30, 5 and 7:30.
It’s a radical change for sure, but none of the coaches or athletes who could be involved seemed to mind a great deal.
“If we can be fortunate enough to still be playing at that time, we’d play at midnight,’’ Stackhouse said.
Fulton agreed.
“I’m up to it and we’re up to it,’’ he said.
“I will say it’s workable,’’ Graham said. “Hopefully we’ll get to see how it feels and make the Final Four.’’
Angel may have put it best. “Whatever they do, I just want to play,’’ she said.
• Here is the full schedule of games involving Cumberland County Schools for tonight’s second round of the NCHSAA basketball playoffs.
FRIDAY, March 1
4-A Girls
(9) D.H. Conley (17-8) at (8) South View (19-7)
3-A Girls
(13) E.E. Smith (20-7) at (4) Western Alamance (21-6)
(14) Jacksonville (21-5) at (3) Terry Sanford (22-5)
(22) Seventy-First (14-13) at (6) Southern Durham (23-5)
(15) Eastern Alamance (19-9) at (2) Cape Fear (25-1)
3-A Boys
(13) Jacksonville (18-9) at (4) Seventy-First (24-2)
(15) Wilson Hunt (21-7) at (2) Westover (26-1)
