Ridgecroft advances two teams to NCISAA quarterfinals

Published 10:16 am Friday, February 17, 2023

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AHOSKIE – Ridgecroft School will see both its varsity basketball teams in the quarterfinal round of the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association’s (NCISAA) annual tournament.

Both teams hosted NCISAA games on Thursday night.

In the girls game, Ridgecroft raced out to a 30-11 halftime lead en route to a 57-33 win over Northeast Academy.

MaKenzie Slaughter paced Ridgecroft with a game-high 16 points.

Hayes Hatcher scored 13 points to lead Northeast.

The Lady Rams, 12-6 overall and seeded #6 in the Class 1A tournament field, travels to #3 Northside Christian Academy (20-10) on Saturday.

Ridgecroft’s varsity boys also won their state playoff opener on Thursday, defeating Terra Ceia Christian School, 85-55.

The Rams led 47-28 at halftime.

Ridgecroft (22-1 overall and seeded #5 in the state tournament) travels to fourth-seeded Crossroads Christian School (25-7) on Saturday.

Crossroads Christian, located in Henderson, handed Ridgecroft its only loss of the season, 85-44, back on Nov. 29. The Rams have won 20 straight games since that loss.

In other games involving TIC teams in the state tournament, Lawrence Academy’s boys, seeded #7, were upset by unseeded Cape Fear Christian Academy, 77-69, in Merry Hill on Thursday night.

Pungo Christian Academy’s boys, the #8 seed, edged unseeded Halifax Academy, 86-84, in double overtime. The Raiders (17-8 overall) travel on Saturday to face top-seeded United Faith Christian Academy (29-2).

On the girls side of the bracket, #5 Lawrence Academy routed Kerr-Vance Academy, 53-19, on Thursday. The Lady Warriors (22-5 overall) travel to #4 Crossroads Christian School (23-3) for a quarterfinal round game on Saturday.

Seventh-seeded Albemarle School saw their season end on Thursday when the Lady Colts fell 68-63 at home vs. unseeded Cresset Christian Academy.

Pungo Christian Academy is the top seeded team in the girls Class 1A bracket. The Lady Raiders (22-3 overall) will see their first NCISAA tournament action on Saturday when they host #8 Cape Fear Christian Academy.

About Cal Bryant

Cal Bryant, a 40-year veteran of the newspaper industry, serves as the Editor at Roanoke-Chowan Publications, publishers of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Gates County Index, and Front Porch Living magazine.

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