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.