The Hoggard High School girls basketball team advanced in the state playoffs by defeating East Chapel Hill 60-46 at James Hebbe Gym on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
The win advances the sixth-seeded Vikings to the second round of the 2016 NCHSAA 4A girls’ basketball tournament, where the team will face 11th-seeded Heritage out of Wake Forest on Thursday, Feb. 25.
However, fans of Hoggard basketball also faced disappointment on Tuesday when the boys team followed the girls’ win with an unexpected first-round playoff loss to underdog Green Hope out of Cary.
The 11th-seeded Viking boys fell behind by six points at halftime and weren’t able to keep pace with the 21st-seeded Fighting Falcons, which outscored Hoggard by 10 in the final quarter to pull away for a 70-54 win.
Despite the boys team’s loss, Hoggard athletic director Scott Braswell said both teams have seen great success this season.
Both the Hoggard High School girls and boys basketball teams won the end-of-season Mideastern Conference Tournament. The girls team, which is riding a 22-5 record and 9-1 conference record, won the regular season conference championship for the second consecutive year. The boys team, which went 19-9 and 9-3 in the conference, won the conference tournament for the second consecutive year.
The girls are hoping to continue their success from last year, where they advanced to the “Final Four” of the 4A tournament as the fifth-seeded team. The team’s success is a testament to the effort of coach Boubacar Aw, a former player at Georgetown University, Braswell said.
In defeating East Chapel Hill on Tuesday, senior guard and team captain Emma Hayward, as she has all season, led the Hoggard girls team, scoring 21 points, hitting all six of her free throws, and chipping in five assists and five steals. Hayward leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 11.8 points per game.
Junior point guard Tara Poteat scored 11 points for the Vikings while junior guard Alani Fisher added another 10 points.
On the season, the Vikings got significant contribution from the team’s other captain, senior center Aleah Thompson, who contributed nearly seven points and seven rebounds a game. Fisher was the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 7.5 points per game.
While the Hoggard High School boys basketball team suffered a disappointing loss to end the season, it won a thrilling game against cross-town rival New Hanover High School to take the conference tournament on Friday, Feb. 19.
Braswell said New Hanover missed a late three-point attempt to tie the game, giving the Vikings the 60-57 win over the Wildcats in the third meeting between the teams this season. New Hanover won the MAC conference regular season, beating Hoggard in both meetings during the season.
Senior guard Jack Bagley paced the Vikings with 16 points against the Wildcats, hitting four three-point shots during the game. Senior center and team captain A.J. Frye scored 19 in the win over New Hanover.
This season, Frye led the Vikings with a 14.1 points-per-game average, while senior forward Xavier Johnson added 12.1 points per game and Bagley contributed 9.2 points per game.
Braswell said the success of the school’s basketball programs comes down to the success of coach Aw and boys team coach Brett Queen.
“We get kids with a great work ethic and that’s a reflection of their families and the way they were raised,” Braswell said. “Our coaches do a great job of running good programs that allow the kids to be successful.”
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