Wakefield girls basketball
Wakefield freshman (22) Makayla Williams swoops in for two of her six points in Thursday's
53-16 victory at Leesville Road.
Lady Wolverines pounce on Pride 53-16
In its last Cap-7 Conference contest before the holiday break, the Wakefield girls basketball team wasted little time knocking off Leesville Road Thursday, jumping out to a 17-4 advantage en route to a 53-16 victory.
Powered by a strong first-half performance from senior Kayla Harris, who scored all 15 of her points in the opening two quarters, the Lady Wolverines never allowed the Pride to get into a rhythm.
With Harris causing havoc in the paint, senior Nicole Weaver provided Wakefield with an outside presence, tallying 11 points and hitting three three-pointers.
The brightest spot in the Pride's lopsided loss was the performance of forward Bailey
Wilson, she scored a team-high nine points, including a sweet lay-up, which drew a foul in the second quarter. Kendall Kelley added four points.
Heading into their respective holiday tournaments next week, the Lady Wolverines' record stands at 9-2, while the Pride is 1-7.
Although Wakefield was coming off an emotional overtime victory at Millbrook earlier this week, Wakefield showed no signs of overlooking the Pride.
And it seemed fitting that two days after senior Brittany Christian carried the Lady Wolverines to victory against the Wildcats — scoring 26 of the team's 43 points — the rest of the team stepped up Thursday.
In all, seven Lady Wolverines scored at least four points — Christian finished with three — and 10 of the 11 players on the roster hit a bucket.
Wakefield coach Danielle Blackburn said she was pleased to have several players get ample court time against Leesville because the entire roster has been putting in hard work and improving.
And improvement is a big task for this inexperienced roster.
"Everybody knows we lost a lot — four great seniors. We lost a lot of our offense. But this group is forming its own identity," she said. "There are some good things we to do as a team, and there are some things we need to work on.
Leesville Road's Bailey Wilson battles through the Wakefield defense for a bucket Thursday.
"But I am very proud of how they have played, especially Tuesday. After losing a 10-point with two minutes to go [at Millbrook], we could have easily folded. But we didn't. I was glad to see us respond especially when Kayla (Harris) fouled out. To pull out a win against a good team, it feels great."
One month into the season, the Lady Wolverines have leaned heavily on a combination of Harris, Christian and Weaver — all seniors — as the underclassmen gain valuable court time.
And Christian has undoubtedly become Wakefield's leader, both with her play and attitude.
It seems when the odds are stacking against the Lady Wolverines, it is Christian who delivers the clutch shot.
"She is definitely the emotional leader, and she was last year, too," Blackburn said. "No one wants to win more than Brittany. That's just how she is, and everybody knows it. Everything goes through her.
"She's the heart and soul of the team."
Makayla Williams finished with six points, and Alex Loveless, Lauren Hudson, Carson Peters and Alex Friedl all scored four points apiece.
During their two-day tournament at Northern Guilford next week, the Lady Wolverines play Parkland Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m., and Greensboro Smith Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m.
The Pride are slated to play in the Clayton Christmas tournament Dec. 21 and 22.
