No. 1 Lake Norman girls hold off No. 10 Hickory Ridge in 4A conference showdown

The Lake Norman High girls’ basketball team, No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 poll, took sole possession of first place in the Greater Metro 4A Conference with a 59-53 win over Hickory Ridge on Thursday night.

But it wasn’t easy.

Lake Norman led by eight after one quarter, and 12 at halftime, but Hickory Ridge kept battling and gained some momentum in the second half.

Late in the fourth quarter, following a technical foul and two straight 3-point plays, Hickory Ridge was within a basket.

But Lake Norman (16-1) handled the Ragin’ Bulls pressure, hit a pair of layups in the final minute, and forced a key steal from Addison Sirianni to seal the win.

“To be up seven or eight with that time left, I was starting to feel pretty comfortable with what happened,” Lake Norman coach McKenzie Graham said. “But obviously we had an unfortunate situation with the tech and two back-to-back (plays). You never want to see that happen in late-game situations, but the grit that we showed towards the end of the game is something I’ll always remember.”

Lake Norman’s Alexis Shehan finished the game with 21 points and eight rebounds. Her performance in the second half was key for her team as she was able to exploit some mismatches inside.

“We started off kind of shaky and letting the crowd get into our heads,” Shehan said, “but we tuned everything out and found that focus I know we have. and we sealed the deal.”

Game summary

NO. 1 LAKE NORMAN 69, NO. 10 HICKORY RIDGE 63

Lake Norman 21 12 15 11 — 69

Hickory Ridge 13 8 15 17 — 63

LAKE NORMAN 69 — Buoniconti 2, Kelsey Rhyne 11, Ellis 1, Moore 2, Alexis Shehan 21, Samantha Shehan 17, Sirianni 5

HICKORY RIDGE 63 — Watkins 5, Leathers 1, Sheree Gidney 18, Ma-Kaela Gidney 17, MaKaila Ritter 10, Duley 2

This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 8:53 PM.