It was a weekend full of games. North Forsyth basketball teams had just faced off against Gainesville High School the day before, then they had to go head-to-head with Habersham Central. “After last night’s win against Gainesville, we all knew we have to play Habersham Central like it’s our last game even though it isn’t,” senior Lindsey Pirkle had explained when asked about her preparation for the game against Habersham.
The girl’s game started off with an amazing three-pointer by junior Emma Rose with only one minute into the first quarter. Habersham steals the ball a couple of times but unfortunately, they were all airballs. Both teams struggle back and forth to keep the ball. It was not till Lindsey Pirkle had possession of the ball and was able to score a layup for a two-pointer. With the layup and the three-pointer,the score was now North 6 and Habersham Central 0.
Just two minutes later junior London Weaver had scored a three-pointer, and just directly after the score the girls were able to get the ball back from Habersham. Which allowed sophomore Gabby Gliatta to score a two-point layup. Habersham had called two consecutive timeouts to plan out their next steps and the first period had ended with the score being 16-2 North still in the lead.
After a short break, the girls were back on the court and neither team was ready to back down. Staying motivated is not the easiest thing to do when it comes to plays but Lindsey Pirkle stated, “The best way to stay motivated is to surround yourself with people who love the game and want to see you improve.” Which is exactly what the girls do and it keeps them going.
Emma Rose started North off with a three-pointer just 30 seconds into the second quarter. Which makes the score now 19-2 with North Forsyth still in the lead. The ball goes back to Habersham and the girls make a rush to catch up to North’s girl, but with North’s defense, the girls have taken back the ball. Gabby Gliatta then earns another three-pointer for North.
Habersham scores a two-point layup and hopes that along the way they can catch up with North. The girls tussle back and forth with both teams scoring and North continuously scoring three-pointers and layups. Going into half-time the score was North 31 and Habersham 9.
Going into the second half of the game, Habersham had multiple fouls which allowed North to take free throws. Later on in the third quarter junior Sophia Parks scored a three-point shot and made the score 44 to 14 with North still in the lead.
In the fourth quarter, Habersham Central was able to score a three-pointer and layups but unfortunately, it was not enough to catch up to the North Forsyth Lady Raiders.
The game ended with North Forsyth being the victors with a score of 53 and Habersham Central 22. The girls have been undefeated and Lindsey Pirkle wished for them to win region for the 7th consecutive year and hopefully win state.
