Storm VG @ Cary Academy

Cary Academy Chargers 66   New Life Storm 39

The Storm girls played valiantly, but fell to the Chargers of Cary Academy on their Homecoming night.  Despite playing short-handed without Shelby, who sat out with injuries, the Storm came out strong to start the game.  With great offensive execution, the Storm got inside for 5 layups against the much-taller Chargers, and Hannah and Emily knocked down open 3-pointers, and the score was 18-16 Chargers at the end of the quarter.  Cary Academy, the only private school girls team ranked in the N&O top 15, made some defensive adjustments in the 2nd quarter, got transition points off turnovers, used their size advantage inside, and pulled away from the Storm, led by Liberty-signee Mickayla Sanders.   Hannah Grace led the Storm with 9 points and 7 rebounds.  Sarah chipped in 8 points and 6 rebounds, while Emily had 6 assists.

Storm VG @ Trinity Academy

New Life Storm 63   Trinity Tigers 43

The Storm girls played a dominant first half at Trinity Academy of Raleigh, blowing out to a 42-11 halftime lead on their way to a 20-point victory.   NLC shot a season-high 50% from the field and 91% from the FT line for the game.  Hannah Grace led the way with a double-double (14 pts, 10 reb) and 6 steals.  Katie and Emily had 9 points, as eight Storm players scored 4 or more points - including Ashlee, who had her first 2 varsity FG.  The Storm also had a season-high 18 assists on the game, led by Shelby and Leigh with 4 assists each.

Storm VG vs. St. Mary's

New Life Storm 33   St. Mary's Saints 27

The Storm girls scored the first varsity win in the program's history over a 3A NCISAA school with a victory over St. Mary's School.   As had happened in 2 of the previous 3 games, the Storm led the whole first half but started the second half slowly.  The Saints scored the first 5 points of the 2nd half to grab the lead at 21-20.  This time, though, the Storm girls responded.  They stepped up the defense, holding the Saints to 6 points in the last quarter and a half, and fed the ball to Shelby inside offensively for scoring.  Shelby led the team with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals.  Hannah Grace was also in double-figures with 10 points, and Sarah also pulled down 9 rebounds.

Storm VG vs. Durham Flight

Durham Flight 63   New Life Storm 54 (OT)

The Storm Varsity Girls' NCHEAC conference record fell to 1-1 as they took a disappointing home loss to the Durham Flight.   The Storm led virtually the entire first half, and seemed on the verge of taking control of the game up 26-17 with under 2 minutes left in the half.  Mental mistakes and a late flurry of scoring by the Flight led to a 26-23 halftime score and swung the momentum to Durham.  Hannah Grace caught fire in the second half, hitting 3 three-pointers and scoring on drives to the basket.  The Flight matched her, though, and the score remained tight.  The Storm got behind late in the 4th quarter, but managed to come back and send the game into overtime thanks to a number of clutch plays down the stretch - FT's by Leigh and Hannah Grace, a basket in traffic by Sarah, and a big block by Shelby.  In overtime, the Storm seemed to run out of gas and had difficulty generating points, and Durham pulled away for the win.  For the game Hannah Grace had 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals, while Shelby had 6 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks.

Storrm VG vs Lighthouse

New Life Storm 50   Lighthouse Eagles 12

The Storm girls won their first conference game of the season with a blowout of the Lighthouse Homeschool Eagles.  The Storm dominated the first half with smothering pressure on the ball and an offense that moved the ball well and generated a lot of points off the fast break,  When Emily hit a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer, the score was 40-6, which was the highest-scoring half of the season for the Storm.  The win moved the Storm to 1-0 in conference play.  For the game, Hannah Grace and Katie led a balanced scoring attack with 9 points apiece; rebounding leaders were Leigh with 10 and Grace with 9.  Emily dished out 4 assists.

Storm VG @ Franklin Academy

Franklin Academy Patriots 49   New Life Storm 47

For the second year in a row, the Storm girls led virtually the entire game on the road at Franklin Academy, only to drop a tough one at the end to the Patriots.   NLC played a strong first half at both ends of the court, building a 30-16 halftime lead behind 14 points by Shelby.   The Storm lacked focus to start the second half, with 7 turnovers in the first 3 minutes of the half which swung the momentum and gave Franklin new life.  Foul trouble also kept Shelby on the bench most of the 3rd period.  The Storm maintained a slim lead mostly due to free throws, as Hannah Grace repeatedly drove to the basket and drew fouls, but the Patriots caught up in the last half of the 4th quarter, setting up a tense final 2 minutes.  A FT by Shelby with 45 seconds left put Storm up 47-46, but a long pass downcourt led to a Franklin basket to make it 48-47.  A jumper from HG then went halfway down and came out.  Franklin left the door open by missing FTs, but turnovers prevented the Storm from getting off another shot.  Shelby finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, leading the team in both categories, and Hannah Grace was also in double-figures with 14 pts.

Storm VG vs. Durham Academy

  Durham Academy Cavaliers 63  New Life Storm 30

Playing at home for the second night in a row, the Storm girls lost to the Cavaliers of Durham Academy.  The 3A Independent school used their size and speed to burst out to an 11-0 lead to start the game.  The Storm adjusted and played them even for the rest of the first quarter, trailing 20-9, but in the second period were unable to convert on some good shots and gave up too many turnovers and offensive rebounds, as the Cavaliers extended the lead to over 20 points.  Injuries kept Shelby, Hannah, Emily, and Hannah Grace on the bench for much of the second half, hampering any opportunity to try and mount a comeback.

Storm VG vs. Friendship

New Life Storm 50  Friendship Falcons  39

The Storm girls won the season's home opener 50-39 against the Falcons of Friendship Christian School.  The Storm girls quickly converted the opening tip into an Emily Stone layup, but then went cold and struggled to score through much of the first quarter.  With the score tied 6-6, the seniors got things going as Shelby went to work inside on both ends of the court, and Hannah Grace hit a 3-pointer and a couple of fast break baskets.  The Storm went on a 25-7 run over the rest of the first half.  The dominance continued into the third quarter, and 3 consecutive baskets by Shelby off assists from Hannah Grace pushed the lead out to 43-17 midway through the third period.  For the game, the Storm was led by Hannah Grace's 14 points and 4 assists, and Shelby's 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Storm VG @ Grace Christian (Raleigh)

NLC Storm  57   Grace Christian Eagles  31

The Storm Varsity Girls opened the regular season with a convincing win over the Eagles of Grace Christian School.   From the opening tip, the Storm defense pressured the Eagles, causing turnovers that were quickly converted into points.   The first 10 points of the game were scored by Hannah Grace and Katie on layups after beating the Eagles down the floor.   The Storm shut out the Eagles in the first quarter, leading 18-0.  They kept pouring it on in the second quarter, leading 32-8 at the half, with nearly all the points coming on layups and close-in shots.  The big lead gave the coaches a chance to play everyone a lot of minutes and rest the starters for most of the second half, as the team cruised to victory.  Katie Patrick finished with 16 points, and Hannah Grace and Grace put in 12 each.  Emily Stone had 9 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks.  Six players had 5 or more rebounds, led by Leigh with 8.

NCHEAC Preseason Tournament - Day 2

Upstate (SC) Lady Eagles 49  NLC Storm 41

In the morning game on day 2, the Storm faced off against the Upstate Lady Eagles of Spartanburg, SC.  The air was tense - depending on the outcome of the game either NLC, Upstate, or Blue Ridge would be the bracket winner and go on to the championship game of the tournament.  The Storm got off to a fast start - they were up 10-4 and really taking it to the Lady Eagles, but when Hannah Carlson had to leave after her second foul the team lost momentum and Upstate made a run to take the lead.   The undermanned Storm played with great intensity and heart and stayed right with Upstate, trailing by 2 at the half and by 4 after 3 quarters.  The Lady Eagles began to pull away in the 4th quarter as the Storm tired.  Down the stretch, though, knowing that they had to keep the margin under 13 to ensure a spot in the championship game, the Storm hit some big FT's and made plays defensively to keep the margin down so that they could move on.  On the game they shot only 2-21 from 3-pt range and turned the ball over 23 times against the Upstate full-court pressure, but rebounding (against a much bigger team), defense, FT shooting, and an effective fast break kept them in the game.  Grace Carll came up big with a double-double (13 pts, 12 reb).  Emily Stone also pulled down 14 rebounds.

Surry Runnin' Patriots 59  NLC Storm 47

After a great effort to get to the championship game, the Storm just couldn't get things going against a confident, inspired Surry team.  The Storm girls played hard, but could not solve the Surry zone defense and Surry spread the floor and beat them off the dribble repeatedly for layups.  Emily Stone led the team with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Hannah Carlson chipped in with 13 points.

Although the end was disappointing, to make the championship game with Hannah Grace out for the whole tournament and Shelby going out after the first quarter of the 2nd game was a great accomplishment.  The girls showed a lot to be excited about and also got a chance to see some areas where they still need to grow and improve to get to the level they want to reach by the end of the season.

NCHEAC Preseason Tip-Off - Day 1

Despite playing without Hannah Grace, last season's leading scorer, the  Storm girls kicked off the season with 2 solid wins on the first day of the tournament in Greensboro.

NLC Storm 53  High Point Eagles 38

The first game started off slow, but a banked 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer by Katie Patrick put the Storm up 10-2 at the end of the first quarter.  Grace Carll came off the bench and was a real catalyst - the tempo and defensive intensity noticeably increased when she entered the game and the Storm pulled out 25-9 by halftime.  High Point came alive offensively in the 3rd quarter and cut the lead to 8 in the 3rd quarter but could get no closer, as the Storm again pulled away and led by double-digits most of the way.  Aaron was able to play lots of combinations and get everyone plenty of rest, which was important with 2 (or 3) more games to go over the weekend.  7 players scored at least 5 points, led by Hannah Carlson and Katie with 9 each.  Shelby pulled down 10 rebounds and Emily dished out 6 assists to lead the team.  The Storm had 21 steals on the game, with Sarah grabbing 6.

NLC Storm 56  Blue Ridge Panthers 43

In the night game, the Storm came out playing with a purpose against a good Blue Ridge team fresh off an impressive blowout win over Upstate earlier in the day.  Blue Ridge didn't have an answer inside for Shelby, who scored 6 early points.  3 pointers from Hannah and Emily and a long 2-pointer by Grace helped extend the lead out to 22-10 at the end of the first quarter.  In the 2nd quarter, though, Shelby sprained her ankle and left the game, never to return, and Blue Ridge came back to tie the game as the Storm hit a lull and settled for too many quick 3-pt shots.  In the second half, playing without their two leaders, the rest of the Storm team stepped up.  They got the running game going and scored repeatedly on runouts and fast break baskets to pull back out to a double-figure lead in the 3rd quarter which they held the rest of the way.  Emily led the team with 13 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals.  Katie also scored 13 points.  Hannah Carlson had 10 points and 5 assists; Grace had 10 points and 4 assists; and Sarah, despite fighting foul trouble, was tenacious on the boards with 9 rebounds and played lock-down defense on the Panthers' leading scorer.

The 2012-13 Storm Varsity Girls

Storm basketball kicks off the 2012-13 season on Nov. 2 as the girls go to Greensboro to compete in the annual NCHEAC Preseason Tip-Off Tournament.

Expectations are high this season as the girls return their top 4 scorers (and 8 of the top 9) from last year.   Once again, it all starts with seniors Hannah Grace MacDonald and Shelby Suffridge. Hannah Grace led the team in scoring at 11ppg, and also led the team in FG%, FT%, assists, and deflections as well.  Shelby led in rebounding with 9rpg, was 2nd in scoring, FG%, FT%, and led the team in blocks.  Fellow co-captain and senior Hannah Carlson led the team in 3-pointers for the second consecutive season.  The fourth co-captain, junior point guard Emily Stone, led in steals and tied for the lead in assists, while averaging 5.5ppg and 4rpg.  Soph. guard Sarah Suffridge came on strong last season, finishing 3rd on the team in scoring and rebounding (6ppg, 4rpg) and was 2nd in steals.  Soph. guard Katie Patrick showed lots of promise with 5 double-figure scoring games over the last half of the season.  Senior Leigh Hales provides important size in the post, with a number of strong rebounding games and knack for scoring on offensive rebounds.  Jr. Tamara Johnson provides another outside shooter off the bench, and soph. Hannah Millard gained valuable varsity experience, including a double-double against Goldsboro.  The returnees are joined this year by 3 newcomers: soph. Grace Carll, who was a starter at Trinity Academy last season; freshman Ashlee Brown, who made the All-Tournament team while helping lead the Middle School Storm to the State Championship last season; and senior Emily Millard.

While expectations on the court are high, wins are never the primary goal for the Storm.  That goal, as always, is to be a program that reflects the love and glory of Christ in the way that they play and in the way that they treat each other, opponents, and officials.

Go Storm!!!

Storm VG @ Wake Christian

New Life Storm 38 Wake Christian Bulldogs 25

The New Life Storm bounced back from a 2-game losing streak with a strong game at Wake Christian School. The Storm came out moving the ball well, taking good shots, and playing with great intensity on defense. They forced the Bulldogs into 11 turnovers in the first quarter alone and held a commanding 15-2 lead at the end of the quarter. The lead stretched to as much as 19-2 before going into halftime up 24-13. In the second half the Bulldogs were able to close the gap to 8, but this time the Storm responded with 7 straight points to go back up by 15 and were never threatened again. The Storm had balanced scoring, as Hannah Grace led with 7 points, to go with 4 assists and 4 steals. Shelby had 6 points and 10 rebounds, and Mary also scored 6 points.

Storm VG vs Frankston (Aus)

Frankston Blues 52 New Life Storm 50 (OT)

The Storm girls kicked off 2012 by hosting the Frankston Blues, an Australian team touring the US. The teams spent the afternoon enjoying lunch and gift-exchange together, followed by the game - which ended in a tough overtime loss. The Storm got off to a good start in the first period - Shelby scored 6 of the first 10 points to put the team ahead, then a 3-ptr by Emily and two by Hannah Grace stretched the lead out to 19-9. In the 2nd period Katie Patrick provided a spark off the bench with 3 baskets as she and Emily beat the Blues down the court repeatedly on the fast break, and the Storm lead stretched out to 35-19 at halftime. In the 2nd half the Blues upped the defensive pressure and the Storm had too many quick jumpshots and turnovers. Frankston began getting fast break points and took advantage of poor defensive rotation by NLC. The Blues roared back to take a 3-point lead late in the game. Hannah Grace nailed a clutch 3-pointer to tie the score with 28 seconds left and both teams missed chances to win in regulation. In overtime again the Blues had a 4-point lead with 5 seconds left when Sarah Suffridge was fouled on a 3. She hit the first two and missed the 3rd intentionally. A violation gave the ball to the Storm but their final attempts to tie were unsuccessful. Hannah Grace and Emily finished with 11 points each, and Katie had 9. Shelby pulled down 16 rebounds and Sarah S. had 4 steals.

Storm VG @ St. Mary's

St. Mary's Saints 46 New Life Storm 38

The Storm took on the Saints and St. Mary's School - only the 2nd time in the 5+ seasons of the program that they have faced a 3A school. The Saints came out strong and jumped out to a 12-2 lead. The Storm fought back and tied the game at 15-15 early in the 2nd period. St. Mary's quickly regained control of the game, holding the Storm to only 7 points over the next 15 minutes. They limited Storm fast break opportunities and played their halfcourt zone defense well, while the Storm lacked patience resulting in turnovers and forced shots. Hannah Grace's 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists; and Shelby's 7 points and 9 rebounds led the Storm, while Emily also chipped in 7 points.

Storm VG @ Sanford Grace

New Life Storm 55 Grace Christian Crusaders 51

The day after winning in Asheboro, the Storm girls were back on the road in Sanford to face the Crusaders of Grace Christian School. The first 3 quarter were close, with the Storm leading by 2 at halftime and 6 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but the Storm depth made a difference and NLC pulled away in the 4th period. The lead stretched to as much as 15 points with under 2 minutes remaining before a late flurry of Crusader points made the final margin closer. The Storm was led by Hannah Grace had 14 points and 4 assists, Emily with 12 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals, Mary with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Shelby with 17 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Storm VG @ Fayetteville St. Christian

New Life Storm 50 Fayetteville St. Christian Patriots 47

The Storm traveled to Asheboro to take on the Patriots of Fayetteville St. Christian School, the alma mater of coach Aaron Miller. The game was very close and competitive throughout, with the Storm pulling out a narrow victory. Mary scored 14 points to lead the Storm, while Shelby and Hannah Grace had 11 and 10. Shelby also pulled down 20 rebounds, while Emily had 12 and Sarah S. had 4 steals.