Varsity Girls vs. Cary Christian JV

New Life Storm 56 Cary Christian Knights 38

The NLC Storm cruised to a comfortable road victory at Cary Christian in their regular season opener by a score of 56-38. Defensive pressure was a key, with NLC grabbing 16 steals. The Storm ran out to a commanding 29-12 halftime lead, and stretched the lead over 20 early in the 2nd half. All 14 players got ample playing time, with the starters sitting out most of the 2nd half. Hannah Grace led the Storm with 14 points and was disruptive with 6 deflections. Sarah Suffridge joined her in double figures with 10 points along with 5 steals. Shelby pulled down 13 rebounds and Emily had 3 assists to lead the team.

2011 NCHEAC Preseason Tipoff - Varsity Girls

New Life Storm 47 Low Country Wildcats 42

The girls kicked off the season by facing the defending HSPN East Coast Tournament champion, the Low Country Wildcats of Charleston, SC. The Storm opened up hot from the outside against the Wildcat zone, with Mary Williams, Hannah Grace MacDonald, Hannah Carlson, and Sarah Suffridge all hitting 3-pointers in the 1st quarter. Low Country kept pace, though, ending the quarter tied at 15-15. Tamara Johnson, Leigh Hales, and Shelby Suffridge provided a spark off the bench in the second period, as the Storm pulled out to an 11 point lead. Just when it looked like the girls were ready to pull away, the Wildcats responded in the 3rd quarter. 3 straight jump shots sliced into the Storm lead, but Aaron responded by changing defenses and putting in Sarah S. to shut down the shooter, and the Storm ended the 3rd quarter with a 37-33 lead. With the Low Country defense extended to guard the 3-pointer, the Storm was effective going inside to Shelby, who scored several times. The Wildcats could never get closer than 3 points, and Hannah Grace and Emily Stone led an effective delay offense with good ball-handling and decision-making down the stretch to close out the first Storm victory of the season. Hannah Grace led the team with 10 points and 4 assists, Shelby also scored 10 points and had 3 blocks. Mary led in rebounds with 8.

Forsyth Hawks 57 New Life Storm 37

The nightcap on Friday put the Storm up against Forsyth, who return most of the team that posted a 39-8 record last season. NLC started very slowly offensively, with no made FG in the 1st quarter, and fell behind 10-1. Two 3-pointers from Sarah S. helped get things going, and they went into halftime down only 19-13. Forsyth blew out to a 16-point lead in the 3rd quarter, but 3 post-up baskets by Shelby cut the lead back to 10. The Storm had the momentum at this point, but 2 quick 3's put the Hawks back up by 16 and the Storm never threatened again. The highlight of the game came in the last 4 minutes, where Jessica Marshall and Hannah Millard scored their first Storm baskets. For the game, Shelby led in scoring and rebounding with 12 points and 7 boards, while Hannah Grace had 4 assists.

New Life Storm 62 Blue Ridge Panthers 30

On Saturday, the Storm faced the Blue Ridge Panthers of Hillsville, VA in their final game of the tourney. The coaches stressed the need to play with more defensive intensity and the girls responded. With a small 1st half lead, the Storm went to a 3/4-court press and began causing Blue Ridge turnovers and turning them into points. With NLC taking control of the game, Aaron brought in Mary, Sarah S., and Katie to relieve Hannah Grace, Hannah C., and Tamara, and they combined with Emliy and Shelby to bring a fresh wave of pressure as the Storm surged to a 34-17 halftime lead. The lead passed 20 points early in the second half, and Aaron was able to remove the starters for good less than 3 minutes into the 3rd period. The lead continued to grow, and Aaron went to a lineup without a lot of varsity experience - Hannah Millard, Sarah Munroe, Leigh Hales, Paige Storey, and Jessica Marshall. This group closed out the last 10 minutes of the game in strong fashion, entering with a 31-pt lead and finishing with a 32-pt lead. Sarah hit a 3-ptr, Leigh made two 3's, Jessica scored 3 baskets inside, Paige rebounded well and showed good aggressiveness, and Hannah ran the team well as the point guard. In a true team effort, 11 different Storm players scored in the game, led by Leigh with 10 and Mary and Hannah Carlson with 9 each. 12 Storm players got rebounds, led by Shelby with 6. 10 different players got an assist, led by Emily with 5, and 8 different players had steals, led by Hannah C. with 4.

The tournament was a good experience for the girls. All 13 girls that went got significant playing time and had moments to shine. The girls showed lots to be excited about, and learned some things they need to improve on as they work toward the more important tournaments of February and March. Congratulations go out to Hannah Grace and Mary, who were voted to the All-Tournament team by the opposing coaches.

Meet the 2011-2012 Varsity Girls

It's time to get another Storm season started! Unlike last year, when the varsity girls team had only 2 returning players, this year they are still relatively young (2 seniors, 8 freshmen/sophomores) but have 10 players returning with varsity experience, led by the MVPs of the last 2 seasons. Junior forward/center Shelby Suffridge returns after leading the team last year in scoring and rebounding (9 pts, 12 reb per game). She also led in FG% and blocked shots, and was 2nd on the team in assists, steals, and deflections. Shelby is recovering from wrist surgery and has been limited in her ability to practice so far, but hopes to be back up to speed by the time the meat of the schedule gets here. Returning after a year away is the 2010 Storm MVP, junior Hannah Grace MacDonald. Hannah Grace is a lethal scorer who led the '09-'10 Storm team in scoring with 14.4 ppg. Sophomore point guard Emily Stone led the team last year in assists and steals. Emily really came on strong at the end of the season, averaging 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals per game over the last 6 games. Joining those 3 as captains is junior sharpshooter Hannah Carlson. Hannah averaged 7 ppg last season and is a 2-time winner of the 3-pt contest at the HSPN Tourney. Senior forward Mary Williams is another returning starter who averaged 6.5 ppg last season and brings length and athleticism to the front line. Junior center Leigh Hales and freshman guards Katie Patrick and Sarah Suffridge saw a lot of playing time last season - Leigh provided strong rebounding and good passing from the post, Katie provided transition scoring and a knack for getting steals, and Sarah was a tenacious defender who brought toughness and hustle. These 3 girls each spent a lot of time in the gym this summer and have really added to their game. Sophomore guard Tamara Johnson showed a sweet outside shooting stroke off the bench last season and freshman Sarah Munroe gained valuable experience while splitting time between the varsity and middle school teams. The team also welcomes 4 newcomers this season. Freshman Hannah Millard made the All-Tournament team at the Middle School State Tournament last spring. She and sophomore Anna Smith provide depth on the wings. Senior Jessica Marshall and freshman Paige Storey add good size to the frontcourt, helping make this the biggest Storm team ever.

Today we get our first look at the 2011-2012 Storm Varsity Girls in the Black-White scrimmage game at NLC. Aaron and the assistant coaches are very excited about the potential of this team on the court, and as always will be striving as first priority to be a team that is "different" and that reflects the light of Jesus in everything they do.