CHARLOTTE – Turnovers doomed any hope of an upset.

Any hopes of upsetting the Gaston Day School ended when Ridgecroft committed 24 turnovers in the first half. The Lady Spartans used those turnovers to grab a 20-point working margin as they cruised to a 64-29 victory in the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association Final Four.

Gaston jumped to a 4-0 lead, thanks to hoops from Kisha Long and Dana Hicks, before senior Landis Joyner got the Rams on the board with 6:10 to play in the first quarter.

Unfortunately for the Lady Rams, it was the last score for the next five-plus minutes.

The Lady Spartans’ press defense held Ridgecroft to only six shot attempts during the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Gaston Day went on a 20-0 run to grab a 24-2 advantage with just more than a minute to play in the first period.

Ridgecroft used late hoops by freshman Hayes Bryant and junior Sarah Beth Greene to get within 24-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Gaston started the second period on a 10-2 run to end any hopes of a Lady Rams’ comeback. Joyner had the only bucket for the Rams during that stretch.

With the Lady Spartans leading 36-9, senior Jessica Misse hit a hoop to close out the first half to get Ridgecroft to within 36-11.

The Lady Spartans started the second half on a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Late in the contest, Bryant put on an offensive showcase, scoring 11 of her team-high 15 points in the final quarter. In addition to stealing the ball and going coast-to-coast for a layup, Bryant hit a triple and buried two-of-three from the free throw line.

The loss dropped the Lady Rams to 21-5 on the season.

(Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald Sports Writer Jennipher Dickens contributed to this story.)

Lady Spartans (64): Nisha Long – 20, Dana Hicks – 18, Kisha Long – 15, A. Ferrell – 8, M. Worley – 3

Lady Rams (29): Hayes Bryant – 15, J. Misse – 6, L. Joyner – 4, S. Greene – 4