Storm vs. Sanford Grace

NLC Storm 43 Grace Christian School (Sanford) Crusaders 42

Playing early on a Saturday morning in Sanford after the Friday night home win over Lighthouse, the Storm won a nail-biter by 1 point over the Crusaders of Grace Christian School. The first half of the game was perhaps the best half the Storm has played this season. The Crusaders came out with a full-court press but the Storm beat it for several fast break baskets and forced Grace to abandon it. The Storm showed patience against the Grace zone and worked the ball around for good shots and had balanced scoring. Defensively, NLC was very active and really took the Crusaders out of their offense. The first quarter ended with Hannah Grace nailing a 3-pointer just before the buzzer for a 19-6 lead. The Storm extended the lead with a strong second quarter and went into the half ahead 28-10. In the second half Grace mounted a comeback. A more aggressive defense forced some Storm turnovers and rushed shots, and they gradually chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the game at 36-36 and having the ball with a chance to take the lead. A big defensive stop by Arianna and a 3-pointer by Rebecca seemed to give the momentum back to New Life, but Grace responded with with 5 straight points to take their only lead of the game at 41-39. The Storm struck right back as Anna scored, then a steal on the inbounds play led to a Hannah Grace layup to put the Storm back in front 43-41. Grace hit a FT to cut the lead to 1 point and had the ball in the final 25 seconds. Grace star Haley Bryant, who had 21 points on the game, drove the lane but good defense by Rebecca forced her to take a tough shot which missed. Grace twice had the ball out of bounds in the last 2 seconds with a chance for length-of-the-court play, but never got off a shot. The Storm had balanced scoring, led by Anna and Shelby with 10 points each. Shelby had 8 rebounds and Rebecca 4 assists.

Congratulations to the Storm as they remain unbeaten and enter 2010 with a record of 7-0.

Storm vs. Lighthouse

NLC Storm 60 Lighthouse Eagles 44

On a snowy wintry night, the Storm pulled away from the Lighthouse Christian Homeschool Eagles in the second half to win their first conference game of the season. As has been the norm, the Storm jumped out to an early 8-1 lead. Foul trouble then forced NLC to go with a small lineup and the Eagles used their size advantage to pull even at 10-10 early in the 2nd quarter. Led by Anna, the Storm regained the ;ead but turnovers and fouls and a big rebounding edge helped Lighthouse stay close as the Storm led by 27-22 at the half. The second half began with Hannah Grace scoring on a drive, then Hannah getting a steal and passing ahead to Hannah Grace for the easy two. A little bit later, some strong moves inside by Anna, a 3-pointer by Hannah off a pass from Anna, and a 3-pointer by Rebecca gave the Storm an 18-point lead at 49-31. The Storm ran a 4-corners offense for much of the 4th quarter, and turnovers allowed the Eagles to slice the lead to 1o but they could get no closer as the Storm cashed in on free throws for the final margin. Rebecca scored 18 points to lead the Storm, while Anna had 13 and a team-leading 7 rebounds.

Storm vs. Kestrel

NLC Storm 48 Kestrel Heights Hawks 33

(Storm Blog thanks David and Shelley for the game report!)
Overall, the Storm played their best defensive game of the season against the Hawks of Kestrel Heights. In the first half, Courtney set a tenacious tone for the team with 5 steals. Following her lead, the Storm shut down the Hawks’ offense in the first period, allowing only a single basket. At the onset of the second period, the Storm’s fast break game was in high gear with numerous opportunities from Kestrel turnovers. Aggressiveness was needed in this physical game, and Anna was the beast who led the Storm. Anna forced her way to the basket over and over, putting her on the free throw line 6 different times. With 8 rebounds, she helped pump up the Storm’s desire for the ball, leaving some worn out Hawks at halftime to ponder the Storm’s 32 to 12 lead. After halftime, the Storm took the court energized and determined, with Shelby diving on the floor after loose balls, Hannah Grace playing denial defense, and Hannah pulling down 6 rebounds. Both on the wing and in the post, Arianna proved to be a threat to the Hawks’ defense by scoring 10 points and taking 6 offensive rebounds. In the fourth quarter with the game securely in hand, the Storm pulled back their defense inside the 3-point arc, allowing Kestrel a couple of 3 pointers. The Storm let up slightly on their rebounding, however, they fought well, and in the end, pulled out a solid 48 to 33 victory.

Arianna and Shelby scored 10 points each to lead the team and Shelby also led in rebounding with 12. The Storm is now 5-0 on the season.

Storm vs. Masonic Home

NLC Storm 40 Masonic Home Red Devils 20

The Storm ran their record to 4-0 with a 20-point victory over the Lady Devils at the Masonic Home in Oxford. NLC got off to a strong start, jumping on top 14-1 at the end of the first quarter with Hannah Grace and Shelby combining for 12 points. The Storm moved the ball well and played stifling defense, getting numerous steals and deflections and keeping Masonic from getting good shots. In the second period the Devils played more physical and the Storm seemed to let down a bit. They went over 6 minutes without scoring but still led 20-7 at halftime. The Storm put the game out of reach in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Devils 16-2 to take a 27-point lead. Hannah Grace scored 9 points, Daryl had 6 rebounds, and Rebecca 4 assists to lead the team.

Storm vs. Friendship

NLC Storm 66 Friendship Christian Falcons 28

In front of a packed house in their first home game of the season, the Storm won big over the Falcons of Friendship Christian School by a score of 66-28. It took the Storm only a few seconds to score in the contest, as Rebecca scored a layup off a perfectly executed tip-off play. The early pace of the game was quick and the Storm used the fast break and good ball-movement against the Friendship zone to establish a lead. However, mounting fouls slowed the pace of the game and kept them from putting the Falcons away. At halftime the score was 30-17 in favor of NLC. The Storm came out blazing after halftime. They turned up the intensity of the defense but cut down on the fouling, and went on a 14-0 run in the first 3 minutes of the 3rd quarter. The highlight was a textbook fastbreak from Shelby to Rebecca to Hannah Grace where the ball went the length of the court without touching the floor, followed by a quick steal and pass ahead to Hannah Grace for a layup and foul for a 3-pt play. Friendship scored three points to stop the run, but then the Storm reeled off another 12 in a row with some nice feeds to Anna inside and a couple of lefty baby hooks by Daryl. A bank shot by Hannah Grace from just inside the 3-pt line at the buzzer made it 56-20, and the 26-point outburst marked the Storm's highest scoring quarter of the season thus far. Rebecca and Hannah Grace led in scoring with 16 points apiece, while Anna had 10. Shelby led in rebounds with 11. This game also marked the varsity debut for Tamara Johnson. Called up from the middle school Storm Club and pressed into duty with Arianna out of town, she contributed solid minutes with the team in foul trouble and scored her first varsity basket late in the game.

Storm vs. Wayne Christian

NLC Storm 29 Wayne Christian Eagles 19

(A big Storm Blog thank you to Head Coach Aaron Miller and Assistant Coach Laura Clements for providing the write-up for this game.)
The Storm made the long trip out to Wayne Christian School and competed in a very defensively-minded battle. The final score of the first quarter was only 4 to 5, with the Storm behind by 1. The Storm’s defense was good, but it was not great. It did not lead to the fast breaks that presented themselves in the first game. At times, the offense moved the ball very effectively against Wayne’s zone. However, at other times, the passing was very sloppy. Instead of the fast-paced game the Storm likes to run, it was a slow, hard, and sometimes ugly 32 minutes. However, in the fourth quarter, with a 9 point lead, the Storm executed very well. They ran four corners to run down the clock, and Wayne had no choice but to put them on the free throw line. The Storm came away with a 29-19 win. Even though the girls know they could have played better, it was good to see them have the perseverance to win a game in which not everything was going their way. Another bright aspect of the game was the play of Shelby Suffridge, who, in a rough and tumble battle, rose to the challenge. Though she only scored 6 pts, Shelby came away from the game with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 block, and 2 deflections.

Hannah Grace finished with 9 points and Daryl pulled down 9 rebounds to lead the Storm.

Storm vs. East Wake

NLC Storm 69 East Wake Academy Eagles 29

The Storm got the season off to a great start with a blowout victory on the road at East Wake. Shelby started things off with the first basket of the season, and NLC used smothering defense and the fast break to run out to a commanding 24-3 lead after the first quarter. The lead was still at 21 points at halftime, and in the second half the Storm never let up, gradually expanding the lead to 30 points after three quarters and on to the final margin of 40, the largest lead of the game. The Storm pushed the ball quickly up the court at every opportunity, getting many fast break baskets and shooting 53% from the field for the game. Defensive pressure yielded 19 steals, as all eight Storm players had at least one steal led by Anna with 6. Hannah Grace led the team in scoring with 28 points on sizzling 13-16 shooting, while Courtney had 10 and all eight players scored. Anna led in rebounding with 12 and Rebecca led a strong overall team passing effort with 6 assists.

New Life Storm - Season 4

Season #4 for the New Life Camp Storm begins tonight! The 10th and 7th graders who started playing together two seasons ago have grown up to seniors and freshmen and, joined by transfer Arianna Dinglasan, are ready to make their mark this season. Come out and see the girls take on East Wake Academy in Zebulon at 6:00.

HSPN 3A Finals

CHEN Bravehearts 41 New Life Storm 36

The Storm season drew to a close with a 41-36 loss to the Bravehearts of the Christian Home Educators Network of Maryland in the finals of the 3A bracket at the HSPN East Coast Tournament. This game was a defensive struggle, with both teams playing with a lot of intensity and forcing turnovers. The NCAA arena seemed to throw off the 3-point shooting the Storm relies on, as they went only 1-19 from the arc on the game. The Bravehearts pulled out front early, going ahead by as much as 17-8 in the second quarter. The Storm refused to wilt and battled back to within 21-18 at the half. The second half remained close and the Storm increased the defensive pressure and created turnovers. Fast break baskets by Georgia and Hannah Grace tied the game at 26. A rebound basket by Georgia and 2 inside buckets by Shelby kept the Storm neck-and-neck with the Bravehearts in the 4th quarter. Great defense and tremendous effort kept the Storm in the game to the end and gave opportunities to win, but we were never able to get that one big play to grab the lead. Hannah Grace and Georgia led the scoring for the Storm with 9 and 8 points, respectively. Anna pulled down 11 rebounds and Rebecca dished out 5 assists.

The tournament was a great week of basketball and a lot of fun. All 10 girls had moments to shine here. Rebecca and Hannah Grace were voted to the first-team All-Tournament team and Anna was voted to the second team All-Tournament team.

Hannah Wins!

Congratulations to Hannah for winning the 15U 3-point contest at the HSPN Tournament. Georgia finished in 2nd place to complete a Storm sweep.

HSPN Girls 3-pt Contest

Rebecca, Hannah, and Georgia advance to the finals! Congrats to Rebecca for making the finals of the 19U girls 3-pt contest, and to Hannah and Georgia for making the finals of the 15U girls 3-pt contest.

HSPN Division 3A Semi-Finals

New Life Storm 62 Binghamton Blaze 36

The NLC Storm played their way into the 3A championship game with a blowout victory over the Binghamton (NY) Blaze 62-36. Unlike their first 3 games of the tournament, the Storm got off to a slow start, falling behind 8-3. Two 3's by Rebecca helped steady the Storm and a 3 by Georgia put them ahead 12-10 before the Blaze scored to tie the game at 12-12 at the end of the quarter. Hannah Grace began the second quarter with a steal and layup, then followed with another breakaway off of a defensive rebound outlet from Daryl to start a Storm rally. Jump shots by Shelby and Katie continued the rally and the Storm raced to a 32-20 halftime lead. In the second half the Storm continued to pour it on, scoring the first 8 points of the quarter to open up a 20-point lead. The Blaze then made a run to cut the lead back to 12, but the Storm stopped the run and pulled away over the last 10 minutes of the game. Rebecca scored 19 (including 4-6 from 3-pt range) and Hannah Grace had 15 to lead the Storm and Daryl pulled down 14 rebounds.

The Storm will face the Bravehearts of Baltimore, MD for the 3A title at 6:00 tomorrow. The game will be held in the 9000-seat Vines Center arena where the Liberty University Flames play.

HSPN Pool Play Game #3

New Life Storm 49 Greenville Hurricanes 41

The NLC Storm finished tournament pool play on a high note, beating the Hurricanes of Greenville, SC by a score of 49-41. The Storm again jumped out to a first period lead and looked ready to pull away, but turnovers and a failure to stop the Hurricanes dribble penetration allowed the Hurricanes to pull within 25-22 at the half. A switch to a zone defense in the 3rd quarter gave the Storm the momentum, as they put the clamps on and gave up only 3 points in the quarter and pulled out to an 11 point lead. Turnovers again were a problem, preventing the Storm from pulling away and allowing the Hurricanes to mount a 4th quarter comeback. They closed within 2 points and had the ball with one minute remaining, but Rebecca got a steal and fed Daryl on the break, where she was fouled. Daryl hit both FTs to make it a 2-possession game. The Storm kept the Hurricanes from scoring again and hit FTs in the last minute to ice the game. The Hurricanes played a very physical game, but the Storm showed the toughness to overcome that and secure the win. Hannah Grace led the Storm with 17 points, and Rebecca had 12. Daryl and Anna had 8 rebounds to lead the team, while Shelby pulled down 7.

With pool play complete, the teams have been reseeded into 4 divisions (1A through 4A). The Storm is the #2 seed in the 3A (second highest) division. Tonight they will play the Binghamton Blaze in the division semi-finals at 9:30.

HSPN Pool Play Game #2

New Life Storm 64 Front Royal Flames 33

The Storm bounced back from a tough morning loss to post a blowout win over the Flames of Front Royal, Virginia in the evening game on the first day of the tournament in Lynchburg. Rebecca got a FT off the opening tip play and the Storm led the rest of the game, with the lead growing from 8 points at the end of the 1st quarter to 13 at halftime, then 22 after three quarters. In contrast to the morning game, where the Storm settled for jump shots (attempting as many 3-pointers as 2-pt field goals), this time they worked the ball inside and got lots of points in the paint. Shelby and Anna responded with good scoring games. Success inside opened up the wings and Ryan, Rebecca, and Hannah Grace took advantage with 3's. The team also took care of the ball well, with only 11 turnovers. Rebecca led the scoring for the Storm with 18 points, Ryan and Shelby each had 12, and Anna finished with 10 to go with a team-leading 8 rebounds.

The Storm completes pool play at 2:30 tomorrow against the Upstate Hurricanes of Greenville, SC. Then the teams will be seeded into divisions for the division semifinals tomorrow night.

HSPN Tourney - Pool Play Game 1

CVHAA Patriots 51 New Life Storm 46

The NLC Storm dropped their first game in the HSPN tournament 51-46 to the Patriots of Central Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association. The first 3 quarters were back and forth, with neither team leading by more than 4 points and both teams holding the lead about an equal amount of time. At the end of the 3rd quarter, with the Storm trailing by 1, the Patriots hit a shot from just inside the halfcourt line to go up by 4. This was a momentum-turning shot for the Patriots. They scored again on the first play of the 4th quarter to go up by 6. The Patriots were effective penetrating to the basket and increased the aggressiveness of their defense, causing several turnovers and limiting the Storm to only outside shots. Rebecca and Georgia hit 3-pointers to keep the Storm in the game, but they could get no closer than 4 points the rest of the way. Rebecca led the Storm with 16 points, while Anna led in rebounds with 10.

The Storm resumes play against the Front Royal (VA) Flames at 6:30 tonight.

Liberty Tournament

The New Life Storm will be playing in the HSPN East Coast Homeschool Championships at Liberty University in Virginia from March 11-13. The web site for the tournament is in the links at right and has just been updated to include the pairings for pool play.

State Tournament - 3rd Place

New Life Storm 54 Cabarrus Stallions 31

After taking the 27-3 state champion Surry Runnin' Patriots to the wire in the semi-finals, the NLC Storm came back the next day and won the consolation game in convincing fashion, to claim 3rd place in the NCHE Athletic Conference. The Stallions jumped on top early, going up 7-0 just a little more than a minute into the game. After a timeout, the Storm gathered themselves and dominated the rest of the quarter. Anna scored 7 straight points to tie the game and start a 17-1 run over the rest of the first quarter. After this the Storm led the rest of the game. The 3rd quarter saw New Life outscore the Stallions 11-2 to open up the lead to 16 points. The Storm put the game away early in the 4th quarter, stretching the lead to 24 points. Most of the starters rested for the last 6 minutes, but good scoring off the bench kept the lead over 20 the rest of the way. Anna led the Storm with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Hannah Grace scored 14.

Congratulations to the girls and coaches for finishing 3rd in the state!

State Tournament Semi-Finals

Surry Runnin’ Patriots 66 New Life Storm 56

On Friday night, the Storm battled like they had never battled before. Surry’s press, though the Storm had prepared for it, did admittedly cause some problems. On defense, Surry’s athleticism propelled them into the lane for hard lay-ups and second chance points. The Storm fought hard to adapt to the press and cut off the lane on defense while attempting to win the battle of the boards on both ends. As hard as they fought, they found themselves with an 18 point deficit at the half. They refused to give up, and resolved to come back even harder in the second half. The answer on defense seemed to be a 2-1-2 zone, as Surry could not knock down shots. The lay-ups that came so easily in the first half were no more, and our defensive intensity resulted in Surry turnover after turnover. The third quarter was nothing less than amazing. The Storm outscored Surry 25 to 6. Rebecca was hounded and went to the floor many times. Hannah Grace sparked a fire with consecutive steals for easy lay-ups. Right before the end of the quarter, Georgia scored a floater to put the Storm in the lead. The Storm hung close all the way to the end, but the win was not to be. The Storm left with their heads high, knowing that they had given their all. They received praise from even our opponent’s fans. The final score was 66-56, with 21 points from Hannah Grace and 18 points from Rebecca. Daryl and Anna led in rebounding with 12 and 11 boards, respectively.

Times Set for State Tournament

The game times have been set for the NCHEAC State Tournament. The New Life Storm will be playing Surry Homeschool of Mt. Airy, the West Region champion, at 8:00PM on Friday, Feb. 27. If the Storm wins this game, they will play for the state championship at 5:30PM Saturday (2/28) . If the Storm loses to Surry, they will play in the consolation game at 11:30AM Saturday (2/28). All of the games will be played at Greensboro College.

NCHEAC East Regional

Lighthouse Eagles 39 NLC Storm 35

It is tough to beat a team 4 times in a season, as the New Life Storm found out in losing to the Lighthouse Eagles in the East Region post-season conference tournament. The Eagles used their size advantage effectively, concentrating on pushing the ball inside and getting a large number of points from offensive rebounds. The Storm struggled to hit from outside, missing their first 15 3-point attempts of the game. Lighthouse shut down the Storm transition game, and the good ball movement that has characterized the Storm team on their recent win streak was not present as the team posted a season-low 3 assists. Despite one of their lowest-scoring halves of the season, the Storm was down by only 3 points at halftime at 16-13. The scoring struggles continued in the second half, though, and Lighthouse extended the lead. The Storm fought back in the 4th quarter and cut the lead to 4 on back-to-back breakaways by Daryl, but would get no closer this time. Daryl had a double-double, leading the team with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Shelby also pulled down 11 rebounds.

Despite the loss, the Storm will still compete for the state homeschool championship in the NCHEAC State Tournament in Greensboro next weekend as the #2 seed from the East Region.

Regular Season Finale

NLC Storm 56 Kestrel Heights Hawks 32

The New Life Storm ended the regular season right where they started, with an easy road win over the Hawks of Kestrel Heights Charter School in Durham. The Storm started the game with a strong defensive effort, holding the Hawks to only 1 point in the entire first quarter. The offense was a bit slower to get rolling as the Storm took and missed a series of quick outside jump shots. Midway through the first period, the Storm offense got going and New Life Camp ended the quarter up 17-1. The lead hit 20 in the second period and the Storm was never seriously threatened again. The Storm never led by less than 14 the rest of the way and the margin exceeded 30 at times in the second half as the entire Storm roster was able to see ample playing time. Hannah Grace led the Storm in scoring with 16 points, while Anna had 10. Daryl pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Storm finishes the regular season with a record of 14-6. Next up, they move on to tournament play, beginning with facing the Lighthouse Eagles in the NCHE Regional Tournament in Wake Forest on Saturday.

Senior Night

NLC Storm 54 Masonic Home Red Devils 35

The New Life Storm celebrated Senior Night in style with a 54-35 win over the Lady Red Devils of the Masonic Children's Home. The Storm got off to a blazing start in this game. Rebecca got a layup off the opening tip to give the Storm the lead. Three quick 3-pointers from Hannah Grace and two by Rebecca, mixed with several fast-breaks resulting from steals, put the Storm ahead 25-5 at the end of the first quarter. This was the highest-scoring quarter for the Storm since the Trinity Academy game in early December. The lead grew to as high as 33 points early in the second half before a late flurry of points by the Red Devils in the 4th quarter. Everyone scored at least 2 points for the Storm, led by Hannah Grace and Rebecca with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Ryan led in rebounds with 9.

This was the last home game for Ryan, who was honored in a ceremony at halftime. Her leadership and her play on the court will be missed as she moves on to college next year.

Storm vs. Christian Faith (III)

NLC Storm 57 Christian Faith Center Conquerors 52

The New Life Storm won the rubber match with Christian Faith Center Academy Tuesday night, beating the Lady Conquerors 57-52 in Creedmoor for their 2nd victory in 3 games between the two teams. The Storm never trailed in the game. They came out attacking and jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game. The lead was double-figures for much of the 2nd and 3rd quarters before Christian Faith made a run at them. NLC had held Conquerors' star Anastasia Tuset in check with double-teaming and good help defense but in the 4th quarter she led a comeback to cut the lead to 5 with four minutes remaining. Courtney then hit two big shots to stretch the lead back out to 9. The Conquerors later cut the lead to 4 twice in the last 2 minutes before FTs from Anna and Hannah Grace sealed the win. Anna led the scoring with 19 points and Daryl pulled down 15 rebounds.

Storm vs. Lighthouse

NLC Storm 58 Lighthouse Eagles 56

The New Life Storm earned their 3rd win of the season over the Lighthouse Homeschool Eagles with an exciting 2nd half comeback Friday night at New Life Camp. The Storm trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, and were 9 points down at the beginning of the 4th quarter, before outscoring the Eagles 22-11 in the final period to pull out the win. Georgia hit two 3-pointers to spark the comeback and swing the momentum to the Storm, then the whole team really stepped up down the stretch. With the score tied and 14 seconds remaining, Hannah Grace was fouled on a 3-pointer. She hit one free throw to give the Storm the lead. At the other end, Shelby blocked a Lighthouse 3-pointer, and Rebecca hit a FT for the final margin. Hannah Grace led in scoring and rebounding with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Rebecca finished with 11 points and 7 steals, and Anna and Georgia also hit double-figures with 10 points each.

Storm vs. Grace Christian

NLC Storm 51 Grace Christian School Eagles 43

The New Life Storm came from behind in the 4th quarter to defeat Grace Christian by a score of 51-43 at Grace Christian in Cary. The Storm trailed by 2 going into the 4th quarter, but outscored the Eagles 18-8 in the final period to secure the victory, the 3rd consecutive win for the Storm. Anna led the scoring for NLC with 14 points and Daryl led in rebounding with 10 boards.

Storm vs. Lighthouse

NLC Storm 56 Lighthouse Eagles 43

The Storm used a strong 4th quarter to break open a close game and pull away for a 56-43 win over the Lighthouse Homeschool Eagles. With the victory over the NCHE East Region foe, the Storm now has run their record to 2-0 in conference play. The Storm started the game strong, getting out to a quick 7-0 lead after a sweet left-hand layup in traffic and 3-pointer by Rebecca. Lighthouse recovered and tightened the game, and the Storm maintained a small lead for the rest of the first half, going into the break up 27-24. Lighthouse pushed the ball inside in the 3rd period, using their size advantage to take the lead. The rest of the 3rd quarter the lead see-sawed back and forth, but the Storm drew some fouls late in the period taking the ball strong to the basket and used the FT's to take a 4-pt lead at the end of the period. The 4th quarter began with Ryan getting a steal and layup. Then Rebecca got a steal and fed Ryan for another break-away. The Storm increased the defensive pressure and soon pulled out to a 12-point lead. They then maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game. Hannah Grace led the scoring again with 16, joined in double-figures by Rebecca and Anna. Anna led in rebounds with 9. The Storm again passed the ball well, getting 16 assists on 21 made FG. Six different players had at least 1 assist, led by Rebecca with 7.

Storm vs. Christian Faith Center, Part 2

NLC Storm 63 Christian Faith Center 59

In a rematch of last Friday's home loss, the New Life Storm went on the road and earned a hard-fought victory over the Lady Conquerors in Creedmoor by a score of 63-59. The game was very similar to the first meeting between the two teams, an exciting back-and-forth game where neither team was able to pull away, but this time the Storm came up big in the last 2 minutes, coming from behind to win. Christian Faith led most of the first half, but never by more than 6 points, as the Storm stayed within striking distance with tough defense, good ball movement, and some timely outside shooting from Hannah Grace. At the end of the 2nd quarter, the Storm made a surge and took the lead 30-28 on a fast-break basket by Ryan. Both teams started a bit slow offensively in the 2nd half and the Storm missed some good opportunities to build on their lead. Then the Conquerors' star Anastasia Tuset, who came in averaging 24 points/game, got hot, scoring 10 consecutive points to put Christian Faith up by 8. The Storm refused to wilt and fought back to even the game early in the 4th period. The Storm adjusted with good help defense to swarm and contain Tuset, forcing her to take difficult shots or pass off. Offensively, they attacked the basket and drew fouls. The Storm pulled out to a 51-47 lead behind good FT shooting, but Christian Faith retook the lead with a couple of put-backs and their own good FT shooting. With just over 1 minute to play, Anna scored on an assist from Courtney to tie the game at 59. After a Christian Faith miss, Rebecca grabbed the defensive rebound and quickly advanced the ball up the floor, where Anna scored the go-ahead basket off another pass from Courtney. After another miss by the Conquerors, Hannah Grace hit two FTs with 11 seconds remaining to ice the game. Hannah Grace led the Storm in scoring with 28 points, including 5-7 from 3-pt range. Rebecca (13) and Anna (11) joined her in double-figures, while Anna and Daryl pulled down 12 and 11 rebounds respectively.

Storm vs. Christian Faith Center

Christian Faith Center 59 NLC Storm 51

The New Life Storm dropped a hard-fought, fast-paced game to the Lady Conquerors of Christian Faith Center Academy by a score of 59-51 on Friday, Jan. 23. The Storm got off to a good start in this game, moving the ball crisply against the Conquerors' zone. Daryl was very active early, scoring the Storm's first 6 points. 3-pointers from Hannah Grace and Ryan helped the Storm to a 14-12 lead after one quarter. Things stayed even until late in the first half, when the Storm lost focus a bit and committed some turnovers, which Christian Faith was able to turn into a 29-24 halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter Christian Faith pulled out to a 10-point lead, but a scoring burst from Hannah Grace starting late in the period brought the Storm back and they retook the lead in the 4th quarter. Most of the 4th period the lead was back and forth. Down the stretch, a basket by Shelby put the Storm up by 1 but Christian Faith answered. Two FT's by Shelby again put the Storm up by 1, but this time the Conquerors answered with a 3. Hannah Grace tied the game, but again the Conquerors nailed a 3 for a 3-pt lead. The Storm was not able to answer this time, as they didn't make another FG, while the Conquerors made their FT's to put the game away. Hannah Grace and Daryl both had double-doubles for the Storm; Hannah Grace with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Daryl had 11 points and 19 boards. The Storm had to play this game without Rebecca, out with a sprained ankle, but Anna moved out to the point and did a good job running the offense.

Fayetteville Game Cancelled

The game scheduled for January 20 against the Fayetteville Homeschool Crusaders in Fayetteville was cancelled due to the snow.

Storm vs. Friendship

Friendship Christian Falcons 57 NLC Storm 49

The New Life Storm suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of the Falcons of Friendship Christian School by a score of 57-49 on Homecoming night at Friendship. Less than 2 weeks after the Storm had soundly defeated the Falcons in the JCA Holiday Tourney, this time the Falcons came out and played an inspired, aggressive game not matched by the Storm. The solid defense that has been a constant for the Storm this season was absent, as the team had a season-low 3 steals and repeatedly allowed penetration and good shots by the Falcons. The Storm scored the first points of the game on a short jumper by Courtney set up by a nice ball-reversal, but that was one of the few first-quarter highlights for the team. Rebecca picked up two quick fouls and sat out most of the quarter. Friendship went on an 18-4 run fueled by offensive rebounds, Storm turnovers, and beating the Storm downcourt in transition. A barrage of 3-pointers in the 2nd quarter stretched the lead to 15. Georgia came in and scored 8 points and put disruptive ball pressure on the Falcons' PG, and the Storm closed the gap to 34-25 at the half. In the second half, the Storm was not able to string together enough defensive stops and effective offensive possessions to make a run, and Friendship maintained their lead. The Falcons left the door open by missing free throws in the last 2 minutes, but after a banked 3 and FT from Hannah cut the lead to 8 they had several shots to tighten the game that didn't go down. Rebecca led the scoring for the Storm with 15 points, while Anna had 11 points and 19 rebounds.

NLC Storm vs. North Raleigh Christian Academy

New Life Storm 34 NRCA Knights 58

Playing before their biggest crowd yet this season, the Storm took on the Knights of North Raleigh Christian Academy in a much-anticipated game at NRCA and fell by a score of 58-34. The team came out eager to play and hopeful to come away with a win against the Knights, but fell behind at the beginning of the game. They soon diagnosed their errors and fought back by repeatedly beating NRCA’s press, shooting the three ball, and playing hard-nosed defense. Trailing by 6 after one quarter, they seized the momentum in the 2nd quarter with back-to-back threes from Rebecca and Hannah Grace to tie the game at 15. They stayed right with the Knights through the second period and trailed by 5 points, 27-22, at the half. The undersized Storm missed Shelby’s presence; but Katie came in off the bench to play some valuable minutes. In the second half, the Storm stayed within striking distance well into the 4th quarter. The girls gave a great effort on both offense and defense. In the end, they noted some areas in which they can improve and will thus be better from the hard battle. Hannah Grace led the Storm in scoring with 13 points and Anna led in rebounds with 9.

Conference Win!

NLC Storm 31 Lighthouse Eagles 23

The New Life Storm started off NCHE Conference play with a 31-23 win over Lighthouse Homeschool. The Storm had a great first half - going on a 17-2 run over the last quarter and a half to take a commanding 24-8 lead into the locker room. Ryan was on fire, mixing baseline jumpers and fast-break layups for 10 first-half points to lead the team. The lead grew to 18 early in the second half and the Storm had several opportunities to push it over 20 but did not convert. The tide then turned as the Storm went ice cold (and a little impatient) from the perimeter against the Eagles' packed-in zone defense. Lighthouse chipped away at the lead and cut it to 9 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Nobody scored for over 4 minutes to begin the 4th quarter, then Lighthouse cut the lead to 6. The Storm went to a delay offense in the last 3 minutes that successfully burned time off the clock. Two big steals by Rebecca (out of her 6 total steals) and a basket by Daryl iced things for the Storm. Good defense and rebounding (51 rebounds against the much-taller Eagles) were the keys to pulling out this win. Daryl was a beast on the boards with 21 rebounds, while Ryan was the leading scorer with 10.

Final Tournament Standings

Girls
1st Master's Academy
2nd Sanford Grace Christian
3rd New Life Camp Storm
4th Friendship Christian
5th Raleigh Grace Christian
6th Bethel
7th Rocky Mount Prep
8th Neuse Baptist

Boys
1st Rocky Mount Prep
2nd Neuse Baptist
3rd Master's Academy
4th Friendship Christian
5th Bethel
6th Johnston Christian
7th Sanford Grace Christian
8th Raleigh Grace Christian

JCA Tourney - Consolation Game

New Life Storm 46 Friendship Christian Falcons 30

The NLC Storm added a trophy to the trophy case, bringing home the 3rd place trophy in the JCA Holiday Tournament with a convincing 46-30 win over Friendship Christian School of Raleigh. After a 6-6 tie at the end of the first quarter, the Storm turned up the heat in the 2nd quarter, holding the Falcons to only 3 points in the quarter and taking an 8-point halftime lead. In the second half, NLC led by double-figures most of the way, steadily extending the lead to as much as 19 midway through the 4th quarter. The Storm focused on working the ball inside in this game and also controlled the offensive boards, pulling down 25 offensive rebounds. Anna had a big game, leading the team with 17 points, while Ryan also reached double-figures with 10. Daryl led a strong team rebounding effort with 10, and Rebecca added 7 assists.

Congratulations to the girls on a good tournament. It was a fun weekend of basketball and a good preparation for the state and HSPN tournaments coming up in February and March.

JCA Tourney - Round 2

Master's Academy Eagles 63 New Life Storm 21
The Storm fell to the Master's Academy Eagles of Oveido, FL by a score of 63-21 in the second round of the JCA Holiday Tournament. The Eagles are a tall, physical team and proved to be too much for the Storm on this night. NLC played some solid defense and made Master's work to find good shots, but Master's hit some tough shots, and combined inside strength with 3-point shooting. On the offensive end, the Eagles' aggressive zone defense made it difficult for he Storm to even get shot attempts. Despite the score, the Storm girls displayed great attitudes and kept fighting to end. They put 13 points on the board in the 4th quarter, sparked by Georgia Brown, who came off the bench to score 7 points, which led the team in scoring. The Storm will now play for 3rd place in the tourney against Friendship Christian of Raleigh on Saturday at 3:00.

JCA Tourney - Round 1

New Life Storm-47 Neuse Baptist Lions-29

The Storm beat the Lions of Neuse Baptist Christian School by a score of 47-29 on New Year's Day in the first round of the JCA Holiday Tournament. After establishing an early 7-point lead, the Storm fell victim to some post-Christmas sluggishness. Neuse Baptist made a late second quarter run and took a 19-16 halftime lead when they hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the half. Rebecca hit three consecutive 3-pointers early in the 3rd quarter to regain the lead for NLC. Hannah followed with 2 jumpers from the corner (part of an 18-point Carlson run!) . Neuse Baptist hit another long buzzer-beater at the end of the 3rd quarter to pull within 6 points, but the Storm pulled away in the 4th quarter. Rebecca led the Storm in scoring with 16 points, while Anna grabbed 16 rebounds. The Storm now moves on to the winner's bracket of the tournament where they will face Master's Academy of Oveido, Florida.