COAL MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The one thing the fifth-ranked North Forsyth girls are getting used to is top-10 matchups.
For the third time this season, the Lady Raiders have disposed of a top-10 ranked opponent. Their latest victim: No. 9 Norcross. Three Lady Raiders scored in double figures to help lead North Forsyth to a 59-40 rout of the Lady Blue Devils at Raider Arena Friday night.
Anna Gilatta led North Forsyth with 16 points, all in the first half, while Ali Jones connected on a trio of 3-pointers and two foul shots for 11 points, and Meredith Franklin hit for 11 points.
The Lady Raiders have knocked off No. 6 Cherokee (Class 7A) and No. 6 Marist (Class 4A) and No. 5 Wesleyan (Class A Private) and are off to a hot start at 6-0.
"We're playing pretty well, but we still have a lot of work to do," coach Brad Kudlas said. "[Earlier] this week, I didn't think basketball was going well. We had some not-so-good days, and I didn't really know what to expect here today."
The Lady Raiders opened the first quarter on a 17-3 run behind a 10-point quarter from Gilatta, but the Lady Blue Devils found a groove late in the quarter. Zaria Hurston and Jania Akins fueled the fire, and the 10-0 run, to cut the lead to just four points, 17-13, at the end of the first quarter.
"[In the] second quarter, we locked them down a little bit more on defense, so I think that was key," Kudlas said. "Not letting them get some easy shots, and that's tough when you get up to stay hungry for it and stay locked in. I thought they did a great job of that."
Although the offense wasn't explosive in the second quarter, the Lady Raiders' defense was in lockdown mode, holding Norcross to just six points. Gliatta added six points in the quarter, with Franklin hitting a deuce to push the lead to 10 points, 27-17, with 1:58 left in the half.
"Anna is one that is going to come out and explode at any moment," Kudlas said. "She was locked in today. Even though she didn't score in the second half, she had some big-time steals."
In the third quarter, the Lady Raiders' offense was on fire, which turned into some fourth-quarter insurance. North Forsyth nailed five of their 10 3-pointers and built a 19-point lead off a London Weather 3-pointer, 48-29, with 1:10 left in the third.
The Lady Raiders hit a cold streak in the fourth quarter, however, which allowed Norcross to cut the lead to 13 points, 50-37, on a pair of Hurston free throws with 6:10 left. But Jones broke the five-minute drought with two foul shots and a 3-pointer, with 3 minutes remaining, to push the lead up, 55-38. North Forsyth ended the game outpacing Norcross, 9-3.
"We were stuck on 50 for about five minutes," Kudlas said. "We had so many opportunities that were not falling. Ali did a great job of getting to the foul line and getting us off 50, and once she hit that free throw, I was like, here we go, we got it."
Akins led Norcross with 16 points, and Hurston added 13.
