By By Matthew Nascone
The first win has arrived for the Northview Lady Chiefs. They defeated East Hill Christian 43-17 Thursday to get a notch in the win column.
NHS head coach Lorenzo Jones said he was excited to get the first win and he is ready to win another one.
"It feels great to win one," Jones said. "They hustled all game and I know they are enjoying the feeling of success."
The girls came out hustling and did not allow any points in the first quarter of the game and had a 23-7 lead at the half. They were able to accomplish this by pressuring East Hill into many turnovers with a full-court press.
Jones had his girls rotating in and out all throughout the first half in an effort to keep fresh legs on the court, he said.
"We were trying to work with different girls and see who works well together," Jones said. "Overall it was a good win for us and I am very proud of the girls."
The team is still working on how to work together as a team and Jones said winning the game was a big improvement for the team.
"I'm looking to build on this win and keep improving with every game," Jones said. "I hate to look at the next year's, but I have a bunch of freshman. By their junior year I believe they will be a contender if they stick together."
Timeka Marshall with 11 points and Gabe Wesley and Finese Newton with eight points each were the leading scorers for the Lady Chiefs.
NHS opened district play against South Walton Friday night and the recap of that game will be in Wednesday's Advance.
In boy's action
The Chiefs extended their winning streak to three games with a dominant 71-47 victory against East Hill.
NHS head coach Shane Reid said he knew why the Chiefs were able to take over the game against East Hill.
"We came out on fire and I think that was the best shooting performance we have had to open a game," Reid said. "They came out in the first half and executed. When you hit 59 percent of your shots in a half and only turn the ball over four times, you are going to score some points."
Reid said his pre-game plan played out in the game. NHS spread the offensive production around and 10 of the 13 Chiefs who were dressed for the game scored.
"That is what we wanted to achieve and once you mix it up the other team cannot concentrate on one player," Reid said.
Courtney Whatley led the Chiefs with 19 points and Reid said he also played outstanding defense. Cedric McKinley dropped 18 points on East Hill and Nakita Myles added 14 points in the win.
Reid said he is confident of how the team will play for the rest of the season.
"I think we will be more relaxed and focused now since we had a good shooting night," he said. "If a team has a poor shooting night then they try to correct that in the next game and we don't have to worry about that so I think our guys will go out there and play relaxed ball now."
The next month will show Reid how good his team is. Reid said the Chiefs play in two Christmas tournaments at Jay and T.R. Miller.
"We are about to find out how good we really are," Reid said. "I am excited for this next month of basketball."
NHS opened district play against South Walton Friday night and the recap of that game will be in Wednesday's Advance.