NGU women’s basketball splits in the conference tournament
Photo by Amaijah Smith.
Kelsey Watson, Staff Writer
The North Greenville women’s basketball team put up a fight in the Conference Carolina’s Tournament on March 3 and 4, proving that hard work and dedication can truly carry you far.
The NGU women’s basketball team was 16-9 going into the tournament and ended the season 17-10, with 10-8 being in conference play. The Crusaders were also 7-5 at home and 8-5 away.
They knew the hard work they were going to have to put in going into the tournament. Junior point guard Amaijah Smith said she and her team were aware of what it was going to take to win games, going game one.
“We knew we had to focus to really win. We knew we could win the game, but we didn’t want to get big-headed about it, because that could have been a game that we let slip . . . Just take it one game at a time,” Smith said.
The team won the first game of the tournament against the University of Mount Olive 67-42 on March 3 at home. They then traveled to Emmanuel University on March 4 and fell short 69-64 in a hard-fought match up.
“I think one of our small goals was to win a conference tournament game,” said Smith.
As the season progressed, Smith said the goals of the team became bigger as they realized how well the group meshed. They achieved their goal, beating Mount Olive, showing their hard work.
While the team did lose out of the tournament, they did not go down without a fight. The game against the Lions was within five points by the end.
“If we’re going to go out, I’d rather go out with a fight,” said Smith.
The Crusaders and the Lions split during the regular season, each having one win over the other.
Even though the season has ended, Smith said the team’s performance made the work the team put in worthwhile.
“When I think about preseason, it was one of the most rewarding things because you don’t think you’ll make it through. So, the fact that our team did it and got through was really rewarding,” said Smith.
As the season progressed, the Crusaders kept up the hard work, allowing them to get to where they ended up.
When looking at the basketball team’s winning season, there is much to be proud of.
“Looking back, I’m really proud of what the team did and what we all did as a whole,” said Smith.
With the team facing adversity and many injuries, the Crusaders figured out ways to be the best they could be on and off the court.
Now that the season has ended and the team has time to reflect, Smith says going into next year, the team needs to maintain what they built this season.
“We have to stay hungry to keep winning,” said Smith.
She said the team must keep a positive mindset about next year and have higher expectations, along with hard work in the off-season.
