Unbeaten Lake Norman girls stop Charlotte Catholic, head to 4A state final
Kirsten Lewis-Williams said big players need to step up at important times.
She had to step up – not once, but twice – to keep her team on track for a girls’ 4A state basketball championship.
Lewis-Williams sparked a Lake Norman rally in the first quarter, then provided key points down the stretch in her team’s 60-54 West Regional championship victory over Charlotte Catholic.
The Wildcats are headed to next weekend’s state title game with a 31-0 record. They’ll face Panther Creek, a suburban Raleigh team, in the finals. Lewis-Williams finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
“It was just the will to win,” Lewis-Williams said of her team’s tenacious effort against the Cougars (25-7) at Providence High.
The victory carried plenty of special meaning to Lake Norman’s sixth-year coach McKenzie Graham, who played for the Wildcats about 15 years ago.
It was Graham’s birthday, and the victory, which gave the school its first girls’ basketball regional championship, was Graham’s 100th with her alma mater, in 148 games. That’s an average of more than 16 victories a season. The Wildcats are 55-4 over the last two seasons.
The victory also was important because of what happened last year.
A strong Lake Norman team saw a 16-game winning streak shattered last year by Charlotte Catholic in the 4A playoff quarterfinals. The Wildcats shot only 25 percent in that game.
This one didn’t come easy, despite what some people might have expected.
After all, the two teams met Dec. 22 at a tournament in Asheville. Lake Norman, as it has done to most opponents this season, trounced the Cougars 62-40. The Wildcats outscored Charlotte Catholic 27-8 in the second quarter in that first meeting.
There was none of that Saturday at Providence High.
Charlotte Catholic stunned the Wildcats by opening a 10-0 lead in the first 3½ minutes.
Graham called a time out, settled her team, and the Wildcats went to work, led by Lewis-Williams.
Lake Norman recovered, taking a 15-12 lead after the first quarter.
A 3-pointer by Catholic’s Aniyah Scales tied the game at 23-23 midway in the second period, but Lewis-Williams took control. She scored seven points in a 9-0 Lake Norman run.
The Wildcats led 34-25 at halftime, Lewis-Williams had 18 points, and it looked as if Lake Norman might be headed to another comfortable victory.
But the Cougars scrapped their way back into the game in the third quarter and trailed only 47-43 entering the final period.
Charlotte Catholic took a 50-49 lead with 5:15 left on a basket by 6-5 junior standout Blanca Thomas. The lead changed hands several times before the Wildcats pulled ahead in the final 90 seconds.
Once again, Lewis-Williams carried Lake Norman, scoring 11 of the team’s 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Graham has assembled an unusual roster.
Lewis-Williams is a senior, but the other 11 players are either freshmen or sophomores. Samantha Shehan, a 5-11 sophomore forward, scored 13 points. Her twin sister Alexis added 10.
The team gets a healthy amount of support from the community. After the Wildcats’ quarterfinal victory Tuesday over North Mecklenburg, someone in the Lake Norman community paid for a billboard on Interstate 77 that had a picture of the team and the message “Final 4 Bound.”
When the team bus headed back north up the interstate Saturday evening, the same billboard’s message had been changed to “Championship Bound.”
This is spring break week in the Iredell-Statesville Schools, and Lewis-Williams said she has found a great way to enjoy the time off.
“A lot of people are going to the beach, but I think playing for a state championship is even better,” she said.
A Chapter 3 of the Lake Norman-Charlotte Catholic rivalry is certainly possible next season.
Like Lake Norman, Charlotte Catholic is a young team. Thomas, who led the team with 20 points, is a junior. So is 6-foot forward Gracynn Gough, who scored 13 Saturday.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Game Summary
Charlotte Catholic 12 13 18 11 – 54
Lake Norman 15 19 13 13 – 60
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 54 – Blanca Thomas 20; Gracyn Gough 13; Scales 9; McArdle 4; Fava 6; Kernodle 0; McKain 2.
LAKE NORMAN 60 – Kirsten Lewis-Williams 35; Samantha Shehan 13; Alexis Shehan 10; Ellis 0; Rhyne 2; Williams 0.
PHOTOS: Charlotte Catholic vs. Lake Norman
This story was originally published March 5, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
