Rolesville comes back on Charlotte Catholic to win 4A girls basketball state title
Rolesville has its first N.C. High School Athletic Association championship in any sport, and it did not come without a gutsy, come-from-behind effort.
The Rams defeated Charlotte Catholic 65-58 in the 4A girls basketball championship game on Saturday at Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.
- Box Score: Rolesville 65, Charlotte Catholic 58
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Rolesville (27-5) did not take a lead in the game until the fourth quarter.
"The motto of today was 'The Last Dance.' And we wanted to make sure we finished the last dance," Rolesville coach Nikita Warren said.
Charlotte Catholic (27-5) led 44-37 going into the fourth, but the lead got cut down to one point with less than five minutes to go. Catholic quickly extended the lead back to a five-point cushion, 50-45 with 4:42 left.
However, the Rams weren't done.
Rolesville's Justice Everette hit a 3 to cut the margin to three. Then a block by Laila Lewis led to a run out and Camryn Lee laid it in. That was followed by another stop, another run out, and a layup by Lee gave Rolesville the lead with 3:40 left, a 7-0 run to make it 52-50.
A Catholic 3 by Gracynn Gough put the Cougars up by one, 53-52, with 3:17 to go.
But Rolesville star junior point guard Caitlyn Jones hit a floater to make it 54-53 with 2:58 left. She made two free throws to lead 56-53, and then two more to make it 58-53.
Jones finished with 27 points and seven assists, earning her MVP honors
"We didn't want to give up. We tried too hard to get here," Jones said. "We were definitely the underdogs here. We had something to prove and we decided to prove it today."
The Rolesville players talked about the importance of winning a title for their coach. Warren has been public about her son NaJae' taking his own life almost two years ago. His face is tattooed on her left shoulder.
"I understand that she's been through so much," Jones said. "Each day she comes to practice even with everything she has going on. To me, that shows that she's a great leader, so the least we could do was get her to the state championship and get this one for her."
"I just knew my son had the best seat in the house, watching from above," Warren said. "I'm just so happy."
Rolesville's Kayla Bush, who had seven points and nine rebounds, was named Most Outstanding Player for Rolesville. Lee had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Catholic led 27-25 at halftime as Lewis hit a 3 for Rolesville at the buzzer to chip into the lead.
Blanca Thomas, the 6-foot-4 North Carolina recruit, affected the game in many ways for the Cougars, demanding a double-team and sometimes triple-team in the post and cleaning up the defensive glass.
She finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks in her final game and was named the Cougars' Most Outstanding Player.
"I thought we battled," Catholic coach Bobby Conrad said. "It was kind of one of those games where we felt like whatever team could play like themselves was going to come out the winner."
It was also the swan song for coach Conrad, who had already announced his retirement before the game.
"I told the girls today that I woke up this morning with a full heart, whatever happened today, they have given more to me and to this program than I could ever ask for... were it not for them, this would not have been my last year, it would've been years ago. It's been a special run," Conrad said. "Honestly I am so lucky to be and fortunate to be where I am and coach these kids."
Both Rolesville, the 2-seed from the East, and Charlotte Catholic, the 3-seed from the West, were making their first appearance in a NCHSAA girls basketball championship.
Before the game, one player from each team was given NCHSAA sportsmanship awards. Rolesville's Jones and Charlotte Catholic's Kate McArdle were their teams' respective winners.
Box Score: Rolesville 65, Charlotte Catholic 58
Rolesville: Caitlyn Jones 27, Camryn Lee 12 (10 rebounds), Taliya Rowe 8, Kayla Bush 7, Justice Everette 6, Laila Lewis 5.
Charlotte Catholic: Blanca Thomas 16 (11 rebounds), Gracynn Gough 15, Kate Mcardle 9, Harper McKain 8, Olivia Fava 7, Maggie Kernodle 3.
